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Harpers  Stereotype  Edition, 

LIVES   AND   VOYAGES 


u  *  To  *  g  "^ 

DRAKE,  CAVENDISH,  AND  DAMPIER; 


INCLUDING 

AN   INTRODUCTORY    VIEW 

OF  THE 

EARLIER  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  SOUTH  SEA, 

AND  THE 

HISTORY  OF  THE   BUCANIERS. 

WITH    PORTRAITS    ON    STEKL. 


NEW- YORK : 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  J.  &  J.  HARPER, 

NO.   82  CLIFF-STRKKT. 

AND    SOLD    BY   THE    PRINCIPAL    BOOKSELLERS    THROUGHOUT 
THE    UNITED    STATES. 

1832. 


Bancroft  Library 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  is  devoted  to  the  LIVES  of  three  of 
the  most  eminent  men  that  England  has  ever  sent 
forth  into  the  field  of  her  highest  achievement. 
The  relation  of  their  Voyages,  Discoveries,  and 
Adventures  is  in  so  far  the  history  of  the  rise  of 
her  naval  power.  If  it  be  that  the  first  inspiring 
thoughts  of  our  youth  are  inseparably  connected 
with  maritime  enterprise, — with  the  perils,  vicissi- 
tudes, new  scenes,  romantic  incidents,  the  bold- 
ness, fortitude,  and  endurance  of  men  tasked  to 
the  utmost  of  man's  physical  and  moral  powers, 
which  are  displayed  in  the  narratives  of  the  elder 
voyagers,  —  this  work  cannot  want  interest.  It 
contains,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  subject,  much 
curious  and  valuable  information,  gleaned  from 
many  sources,  and  in  every  instance  verified  by 
scrupulous  examination  and  reference  to  the  foun- 
tain-head ;  while  it  is  believed  that,  together  with 
the  voyages,  fuller  and  more  accurate  personal 
memoirs  of  Drake,  Cavendish,  and  Dampier  are 
given  here  than  any  that  have  yet  been  submitted 
to  the  public.  Early  Spanish  discovery  in  the 
South  Sea,  and  the  first  circumnavigation  of  the 
globe  in  the  ever-memorable  voyage  of  Magellan, 
form  a  subordinate,  but  it  is  hoped  an  appropriate 


10  PREFACE. 

branch  of  the  work  :  and  the  History  of  the  Buca- 
jieers,  those  daring  rovers,  whose  wild  adventures 
afford  so  much  to  charm  the  youthful  mind,  is  so 
closely  interwoven  with  the  Memoirs  of  Dampier 
as  to  form  one  tissue.  Instead  of  proving  a  blem- 
ish, it  is  therefore  presumed  that  the  brief  history 
of  this  remarkable  fraternity  may  be  found  no  in- 
congruous episode  in  a  volume  intended  by  the 
author  as  a  contribution  to  popular  nautical  his- 
tory, of  which  the  subject,  though  complete  in 
itself,  forms  also  an  interesting  chapter  in  the 
annals  of  maritime  enterprise  and  adventure. 

Edinburgh,  November,  1831. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SKETCH    OF    EARLY    DISCOVERIES    IN    THE    SOUTH    SEA. 

Drake  sees  the  Paci ttc— Spirit  of  Maritime  Enterprise  in  England- 
Notice  of  Early  Attempts  to  reach  India  by  the  West— Voyages  to 
discover  a  Passage  k>  the  Spice  Isles  through  the  Continent  of  Ame- 
rica— Attempts  of  Columbus — Pinzon — Juan  Ponce — Vasco  Nunez 
beholds  the  South  Sea— Voyage  of  Magellan — He  discovers  and 
passes  the  Straits— The  Patagonians— Discovers  the  Ladrones— The 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus— Customs  and  Manners  at  Mazagua  and 
Zebu— Con  version  of  the  King  and  People— Battle  at  Matan— Magellan 
killed— Massacre  of  the  Spaniards— Progress  and  further  Discoveries 
of  Magellan's  Squadron— Customs  of  Borneo— The  Moluccas— The 
Vitoria  returns  to  Spain,  having  circumnavigated  the  Globe — Expe- 
dition of  Loyasa— Discoveries  of  Saavedra— Voyage  of  Villalobos— 
Spanish  Settlement  in  the  Philippines— Discoveries  of  Juan  Fernandez 
and  Mendana— Robinson  Crusoe's  Island— The  Solomon  Isles— Sum- 
mary of  Discovery  in  the  South  Sea  prior  to  Drake's  Circumnaviga- 
tion  Page  15 

DRAKE. 

CHAPTER  H. 

LIFE    OF    SIR    FRANCIS   DRAKE. 

Drake's  Birth  and  Parentage— He  goes  to  Sea— Purser  of  a  Biscay 
Trader — Voyage  to  the  Guinea  Coast — Sir  John  Hawkins — Slave 
Trade— Affair  at  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa— Drake  returns  to  England— "Ex- 
perimental Voyages— Expedition  to  Nombre  de  Dios— Journey  across 
the  Isthmus— Rich  Booty— Returns  Home— Fits  out  Frigates— Irish 
Rebellion— Patronage  of  Essex ;  of  Sir  Christopher  Hatton— Intro- 
duced at  Court 53 

CHAPTER  m. 

DRAKE'S  CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 

The  Queen  approves  the  new  Expedition — Drake's  Squadron — Cape 
Cantin — Muley  Moloch — Cape  Blanco — Mayo  and  Brava — The  Bra- 
zilians—Ostriches— Natives  of  Seal  Bay— Their  Manners  and  Dis- 
position—Patagonians— Unfortunate  Affray— Stature  of  the  Indians 
—Port  St.  Julian— Doughty's  Trial  and  Execution— Passage  of  th» 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Strait — The  Natives— The  Fleet  separated — Tierra  del  Fuego — Fate 
of  the  Shallop's  Crew— Cape  Horn— The  Elizabethides—  Capture  of 
Spanish  Prizes— Lamas  with  Treasure— Capture  of  the  Cacafuego— 
The  Hind  proceeds  in  Search  of  the  North-west  Passage — Indians 
of  New  Albion  discovered— Singular  Manners  of  the  Indians — 
Drake  crosses  the  Pacific — The  Ladrones — The  Moluccas — Remark- 
able Preservation — Baratane — Java — The  Voyage  Home — The  Cape 
of  Good  Hope— Arrival  at  Plymouth— Drake's  Fame— The  Queen 
visits  his  Ship 63 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPEDITIONS    TO    THE    WEST   INDIES. 

Commencement  of  Hostilities  with  Spain — Drake  captures  St.  Jago — 
Cruelty  of  the  Portuguese — Storming  of  St.  DomingoandCarthagena 
-  Tin-  Fever  of  the  West  Indies— Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Colony- 
Drake  destroys  the  Spanish  Shipping — Observations  on  his  Character 
— The  Spanish  Armada — Capture  of  the  Galleon  of  Don  Pedro  Valdez 
— Expedition  to  restore  Don  Antonio — Expedition  with  Hawkins  to 
the  Spanish  Settlements  in  the  West  Indies — Attempt  against  Porto 
Rico— Failure  of  Baskerville's  Expedition  across  the  Isthmus — 
Death  of  Sir  Francis  Drake — Estimate  of  his  Character  and  Public 
Services 110 


CAVENDISH. 

CHAPTER  V. 

VOYAGE  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Policy  of  Queen  Elizabeth— Public  Spirit  of  the  English  Nobility- 
Ancestry  of  Cavendish — His  Voyage  to  Virginia — Equipment  of  his 
Squadron — Discovery  of  Port  Desire— Colony  of  Pedro  Sarmiento — 
Misery  of  New  Settlers — Sarmiento  made  Prisoner — Natives  of  the 
Straits — Indian  Tributaries  of  Santa  Maria — Escape  of  Tome  Her- 
nandez—A Watering  Party  cut  off— Capture  of  Spanish  Ships— Use 
of  Torture  by  Cavendish — Paita  stormed — Cacique  of  Puna — Skir- 
mish with  the  Spaniards— March  into  the  Woods — Progress  of  the 
Squadron- -Capture  of  the  SantaAnna 123 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SECOND    VOYAGE    TO    THE    SOUTH    SEA. 

New  Expedition  to  the  South  Sea — Attack  on  the  Portuguese  Settle- 
ments— Delay  of  the  Squadron — Letter  of  Cavendish — Relation  by 
Jane— Sufferings  in  Magellan's  Straits— Separation  of  Davis— Davis's 
Southern  Island:?— Piety  of  the  Captain— Natives  of  Port  D-  HH — 
Nine  Men  lost — Homeward  Voyajreof  Davis — Adventures  of  Caven- 
dish— He  loses  twenty-four  Men— Unfortunate  Affair  at  Spirito  Santo 
— Fury  and  Indignation  of  Carendigh— Separation  of  the  Roebuck — 
Discontent  of  the  Crew— Firmness  of  the  Commander — They  miss 
fct.  Helena— Death  of  Cavendish— Hia  Character H» 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

DAMPIER. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    BUCANIERS    OF   AMERICA. 

Origin  of  the  'Bucaniers — Cattle-hunters  of  Hispaniola — Policy  of 
France  and  England — Cruelty  to  the  Caribs — Seizure  of  St.  Christo- 
pher's— Bucanier  Settlement  of  Tortuga — Customs  cf  the  Buca- 
niers— Their  Maxims — Mariner  of  dividing  their  Spoils — Their  Char- 
acter— Capture  of  Jamaica — Enterprise  of  Legrand—  Pprtugues  and 
Mansvelt — The  Bucanier  Chief  Lolonnois — His  Cruelties — Manners 
of  the  Bucaniers — Montbar  the  Exterminator — First  Expedition  of 
Morgan— Pillage  of  Puerto  del  Principe— Storming  of  Porto  Bello— 
Heroism  of  the  Span ish  Governor— Capture  of  Maracaibo  and  Gibral- 
tar— Stratagems  of  Morgan — Projected  Bucanier  Settlement — Storm- 
ing of  the  Castle  of  Chagre — March  of  the  Bucaniers  to  Panama — 
Battle  with  the  Spaniards — Cruelty  of  the  Freebooters — Return  of 
the  Bucaniers  to  Chagre— Perfidy  of  Morgan— Proclamation  of  tho 
Governor  of  Jamaica — Concluding  History  of  Morgan — The  Buca- 
niers again  increase — Capture  of  VeraCruz — They  direct  their  Atten- 
tion to  Peru— Narrative  of  Dampier 164 

CHAPTER  Vm. 

ADVENTURES  AMONG  THE  WOODCUTTERS  AND  BUCANIERS. 

Ancestry  and  Education  of  Dampier— His  Voyage  to  India— Goes  to 
Jamaica  as  a  Planter — Becomes  a  Logwood-cutter  in  Campeachy — 
Habits  of  the  Wood-cutters — Appearance  of  the  Country — Its  Natural 
Productions— The  Wild  Pine — Snakes— Ants — The  Humming-bird- 
Alligators — Dampier  loses  himself  in  the  Woods — Copartnership  with 
three  Scotchmen — Dreadful  Hurricane  in  the  Bay — Its  Consequences 
—Beef  Island— The  Indians— John  d'Acosta— Mode  of  hocksing  Cattle 
— Dampier  joins  the  Bucaniers  —  The  Manatee,  or  Sea-cow  —  The 
River  Tobasco— Indians  under  the  Spanish  Priests — Their  Manners 
and  Condition — Attack  of  Alvarado — Escape  of  the  Bucaniers  from 
the  Spanish  Armadilloes — Munjack — Dampier  rejoins  the  Logwood- 
cutters— Returns  to  England 204 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ADVENTURES    WITH   THE    BUCANIERS. 

Dampier  leaves  England  for  Jamaica— Joins  the  Bucaniers — Assault 
of  Porto  Bello — Description  of  the  Mosquito  Indians — Their  Ingenuity 
in  Fishing — In  using  the  Harpoon — Acuteness  of  their  Senses — Their 
Customs— The  Bucaniers  under  Captain  Sharp  cross  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien— Sea-fight  in  the  Road  of  Panama— Differences  among  the 
Bucaniers— Sharp  leaves  the  South  Sea— Retreat  of  Dampier  and  a 
Party  of  Bucaniers  across  the  Isthmus— Difficulties  of  the  Journey 
— They  reach  the  Samballas  Isles — Cruise  of  Dampier  with  tire  Buc- 
aniers—Adventures  of  Wafer  among  the  Indians  of  the  Darieu — 

6 


Xv  CONTENTS. 

Carthagena,  and  the  Monastery  there— Dutch  Governor— Wreck  nf 
the  French  Fleet— Stratagem  of  a  French  Bucanier— Pillage  of  Rio 
de  la  Hacha— Pearl-fishery— The  Tropic-bird— Iguanas— Negro  Doc- 
tor— Dampier's  farther  Adventures  indicated 232 

CHAPTER  X. 

CIRCUMNAVIGATION    OF    THE    GLOBE. 

Dampier's  New  Voyage— Cape  de  Verd  Isles— Bachelor's  Delight— Falk- 
land Isles— Mosquito  William — Nautical  Remarks  of  Dampier — Junc- 
tion of  Cook  and  Eaton — The  Galapagos  Islands — Death  of  Cook — 
Escape  of  the  Bucaniers — Descent  at  Amapalla — Spanish  Indians — 
The  Bncaniers  separate — La  Plata  and  Manta — The  Cygnet  joins  the 
Bucaniers— Descent  on  Paita — Attempt  on  Guayaquil — Dampier's 
Scheme  of  working  the  Mines— Indians  of  St.  Jago — The  Bucaniers 
watch  the  Plate-fleet — Battle  in  the  Bay  of  Panama — Assault  of  Leon 
— Dampier  remains  in  the  Cygnet— His  Sickness — Crosses  the  Pacific 
— Island  of  Guahan — Mindanao — Its  Customs — The  Bucaniers  desert 
Swan — Future  Cruise  of  the  Cygnet— Pulo  Condore — The  Bashee 
Isles— Character  and  Manners  of  the  Islanders— Cruise  to  New-Hol- 
land—The Country  and  People — The  Nicobar  Islands — Dampier  leaves 
the  Bucaniers — His  Voyage  to  Acheen — Voyages  with  Captains  Bowry 
and  Weldon — Remains  at  Bencoolen — Prince  Jeoly — Dampier's  Return 
to  England— Publication  of  his  Voyages— Employment  by  the  Admi- 
ralty  246 

CHAPTER  XI. 

VOYAGE  TO  NEW-HOLLAND. 

Voyage  of  Discovery  to  New-Holland  and  New-Guinea — Dampier  on 
the  Coast  of  New-Holland — Dirk  Hartog's  Reede— Appearance  and 
Productions  of  the  Country — Discoveries  on  the  Northern  Coasts — 
Plants  and  Animals — Appearance  and  Character  of  the  Natives — 
Voyage  to  New-Guinea — New  Islands  and  their  Productions — Dis- 
covery of  King  William's  Island — Slingers'  Bay — Manners  of  the 
Natives— Discovery  of  Cape  St.  George  and  Cape  Orford— Natives  of 
Port  Montague — Their  suspicious,  inhospitable  Character — Affray  with 
the  Natives— Volcanic  Island — Discovery  of  Nova  Britannia — Islands 
in  Dampier's  Strait — Return  to  King  William's  Island,  and  Second 
Voyage  to  the  Coast  of  New-Holland— Dampier's  Shipwreck— Un- 
grateful Reception— His  Voyage  in  the  St.  George— Bad  Conduct  of 
his  Officers — Dampier's  Imprisonment  by  the  Dutch — Return  to  Eng- 
-  land— Voyage  in  the  Duke— Testimony  borne  to  his  Merits— Reflec- 
tions on  his  Character  and  Fate— The  End 307 


PORTRAITS. 

SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE TofacetkeTtih-pagt. 

THOMASCAVKNDISH Page  123 

WILLIAM  DAMHKR 164 


LIVES 

OF 

EARLY  ENGLISH  NAVIGATORS,  &c. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Sketch  of  Early  Discoveries  in  the  South  Sea. 

Drake  sees  the  Pacific— Spirit  of  Maritime  Enterprise  in  England- 
Notice  of  Early  Attempts  to  reach  India  by  the  West— Voyages  to 
discover  a  Passage  to  the  Spice  Isles  through  the  Continent  of  Ame- 
rica— Attempts  of  Columbus — Pinzon — Juan  Ponce — Vasco  Nunez 
beholds  the  South  Sea— Voyage  of  Magellan— He  discovers  and 
passes  the  Straits — The  Patagonians — Discovers  the  Ladrones — The 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus — Customs  and  Manners  at  Mazagua  and 
Zebu— Conversion  of  the  King  and  People — Battle  at  Matan — Magellan 
killed — Massacre  of  the  Spaniards — Progress  and  further  Discoveries 
of  Magellan's  Squadron— Customs  of  Borneo— The  Moluccas— The 
Vitoria  returns  to  Spain,  having  circumnavigated  the  Globe — Expe- 
dition of  Loyasa — Discoveries  of  Saavedra— Voyage  of  Villalobos — 
Spanish  Settlement  in  the  Philippines — Discoveries  of  Juan  Fernandez 
and  Mendana— Robinson  Crusoe's  Island — The  Solomon  Isles— Sum- 
mary of  Discovery  in  the  South  Sea  prior  to  Drake's  Circumnavigation. 

«  «     '    ' 

THE  early  records  of  maritime  enterprise  relate  no  inci- 
dent more  striking  than  the  adventure  of  Captain  FRANCIS 
DRAKE  forcing  his  way  across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and 
ascending  that  "  goodly  and  great  high  tree"  from  which 
he  could  look  back  upon  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
where  his  ship  lay,  and  forward  in  the  distance  descry  that 
new  and  mighty  ocean,  the  subject  of  so  many  golden  dreams 
and  ambitious  hopes.  When  we  read  that  in  the  enthu- 
siasm of  that  moment  Drake  lifted  up  his  hands,  "  and  be- 
sought Almighty  God  of  his  goodness  to  give  him  life  and 
leave  to  sail  once  an  English  ship  upon  that  sea,"  time  and 
space  are  forgotten  as  we  unconsciously  breathe  "  Amen," 
to  a  prayer  so  gloriously  fulfilled. 


16       DRAKE  SEES  THE  SOUTH  SEA. 

Though  the  previous  voyages  of  Magellan  and  his  suc- 
»  cessors  deny  Sir  Francis  Drake  the  honour  of  being  the 
first  navigator  in  the  South  Seas,  he  was  not  only  the  first 
Englishman  that  traversed  a  large  portion  of  the  Pacific  in 
its  length  and  breadth,  and  circumnavigated  the  terraqueous 
globe,  but  an  eminent  and  successful  discoverer  in  the  most 
brilliant  era  of  maritime  adventure.  Drake  is  remembered 
for  other  qualities  more  essentially  English ;  for  firmness, 
skill,  the  talent  of  command,  perseverance,  generosity,  and 
bravery. 

In  the  age  of  Drake  navigation  as  a  science  was  still  very 
imperfect ;  but  the  spirit  of  enterprise  had  reached  the 
height,  and  among  the  more  distinguished  of  the  early 
voyagers  was  animated  and  guided  by  soaring  and  gene- 
rous motives.  Inspired  by  the  love  of  adventure,  and  the 
ambition  of  discovery  and  conquest,  the  leaders  regarded 
the  spoils,  which  formed  the  sole  object  of  their  mercenary 
bands,  chiefly  as  the  means  of  rewarding  faithful  and  gal- 
lant service,  and  of  stimulating  to  new  exploits.  The 
same  zeal  and  gallantry  which  led  the  Spaniards  to  propa- 
gate the  faith  or  extend  the  empire  of  their  sovereign  in 
the  New  World  animated  the  English  in  extending  the 
glory  of  England  and  of  Elizabeth,  and  in  chastising  and 
despoiling  the  "  proud  Don,"  now  regarded  as  the  national 
enemy.  These  reigning  motives  gave  a  character  of  lofti- 
ness and  a  tincture  of  chivalry  to  the  early  emprises  of  the 
English  in  the  New  World,  even  when  their  expeditions 
were  undertaken  to  proniote  private  and  mercenary  inter- 
ests. In  the  instance  of  Raleigh,  "  chivalry  had  left  the 
land  and  launched  upon  the  deep  ;"  and  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
the  knight  who  "  nourished  high  thoughts  in  a  heart  of 
courtesy,"  would  have  been  the  volunteer  companion  of  the 
enterprises  of  Drake,  and  was  only  overruled  in  this  pur- 
pose by  the  commands  of  his  royal  mistress. 

Before  entering  upon  the  life  of  Drake, — or,  more  prop- 
erly the  narrative  of  those  adventures  and  exploits  which 
form  its  interest  and  an  animating  episode  in  English  his- 
tory,— it  may  be  necessary  to  give  a  brief  and  rapid  sketch 
of  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  some  of  the  early 
navigators  in  the  SOUTH  SEA  previous  to  his  memorable 
circumnavigation,  selecting  the  more  interesting  and  suc- 
cessful of  these  attempts. 


DISCOVERIES    OF    COLUMBUS.  17 

In  attempting  to  discover  a  passage  to  Eastern  India  by 
the  west,  a  short  road  to  the  gums  and  spices,  the  gold  and 
gems  of  known  and  of  imaginary  regions,  Columbus  had, 
as  it  were  by  accident,  stumbled  upon  America,— on  those 
islands  of  the  Western  Indies  which  he  at  first  concluded 
to  be  the  rich  countries  his  sagacity  and  boldness  had  taught 
him  to  search  for  in  this  new  direction.  The  discovery  of 
the  continent  soon  followed  that  of  the  islands  of  America  ; 
and  though  the  real  wealth  and  importance  of  this  New 
World  could  not  be  magnified  beyond  their  value  by  the 
exaggerations  and  flatteries  of  the  first  voyagers,  they  were 
soon  overlooked,  and  ambition  and  cupidity  pointed  to  other 
regions  of  more  abounding  riches  and  higher  civilization, 
overflowing  with  all  that  the  sordid  covet  or  the  ambitious 
desire.  The  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese  had  extended 
to  regions  where  the  harvest  of  the  European  adventurer 
was  prepared  before  he  visited  the  field.  This  inflamed 
the  avidity  of  the  Spaniards ;  and  the  land  discovered  by 
Columbus,  after  a  time,  came  to  be  regarded  as  almost  an 
impediment  to  the  progress  of  adventure  which  might  be 
crowned  with  like  rewards.  Cortez  had  not  yet  discovered 
Mexico ;  Peru  and  New  Spain  were  still  unknown ;  and 
though  the  few  strange  animals  and  beautiful  birds,  and 
the  rich  vegetable  productions  brought  home  as  the  first- 
fruits  of  discovery  in  a  savage  and  unsettled  country,  were 
admired  as  specimens  and  symbols,  these  were  not  the  wealth 
which  the  Old  World  valued,  nor  were  the  lands  that  pro- 
duced them  the  regions  which  were  to  realize  the  romantic 
dreams  of  an  immediate  and  overflowing  acquisition  of  the 
most  rare  and  precious  commodities  of  the  East.  Colum- 
bus had  at  first  mistaken  the  islands  he  discovered  for  those 
of  Eastern  India.  Cuba  he  fancied  a  part  of  Asia  ;  but, 
once  convinced  of  his  mistake  by  the  discovery  of  the  con- 
tinent of  America,  and  by  farther  research,  his  bold  genius 
and  instinctive  sagacity  suggested  the  necessity  of  a  sea 
farther  west,  washing  the  opposite  side  of  the  new  conti- 
nent, and  dividing  it,  probably  by  a  narrow  passage,  from 
the  land  he  sought.  It  has  been  alleged  that  his  conjecture 
was  confirmed  by  very  early  information  of  the  actual  ex- 
istence of  this  western  sea ;  and,  as  we  shall  afterward 
see,  the  shores  of  the  new  continent  were  explored  from 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  Rio  de  la  Plata,  to  discover 
B2 


18  MERIDIAN    OF    PARTITION. 

the  strait  which  must  form  the  channel  of  communication. 
The  search  for  this  passage  to  the  oriental  islands  was  the 
last  labour  in  which  Columbus  engaged, — his  final  and 
most  disastrous  voyage  being  undertaken  for  this  especial 
object.  But  the  discovery  remained  a  legacy,  which  this 
great  man  bequeathed  to  spirits  cast  in  similar  mould  with 
his  own.  From  the  mount  he  had  obtained  a  view  of  the 
promised  land,  but  was  denied  the  felicity  of  reaching  it, 
or  of  tasting  its  fruits. 

The  court  of  Spain  was  soon  fully  aware  of  the  import- 
ance of  following  up  the  researches  to  which  Columbus  fell 
a  martyr,  and  in  which  so  many  brave  men  had  perished, 
though  their  fate  only  enkindled  anew  the  ardour  of  dis- 
covery. The  New  World  was  become  the  grand  lottery 
of  the  Old,  in  which  each  adventurer,  unwarned  by  the  fail- 
ure and  disappointment  of  his  predecessor,  promised  him- 
self the  great  prize.  State  policy  and  ambition  were  thus 
powerfully  seconded  by  individual  enterprise,  zeal,  or  ra- 
pacity. Portugal  and  Spain,  in  their  successive  discoveries, 
reacted  upon  each  other.  The  discoveries  of  the  naviga- 
tors of  the  former  nation,  so  rapid  and  splendid  in  the  ear- 
lier part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  more  illustrious 
success  of  Columbus,  had  now  planted  the  cross  and  the 
devices  of  their  sovereigns  and  nations,  as  the  insignia 
of  conquest  and  possession,  on  many  a  league  of  barbarous 
coast  in  Africa  and  in  America ;  and  though  those  unex- 
plored dominions  may  be  thought  to  have  lain  too  far  apart 
to  produce  clashing  interests,  the  discovery  of  the  Brazils 
by  the  Portuguese  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  probability  of 
the  Spaniards  attaining  easy  access  to  their  East  India  pos- 
sessions on  the  other,  begot  great  international  jealousies. 
Rome  was  still  the  court  of  final  appeal  to  Christendom, 
and  the  pope  the  source  whence  all  new  rights  of  sove- 
reignty were  derived.  A  bull  of  donation  issued  by  the  too 
famous  Alexander  VI.  fixed  as  limits  of  partition  a  meridian 
drawn  100  leagues  west  of  the  Azores  and  Cape  de  Verd 
Islands ;  and  assigned  to  Spain  the  dominion  of  all  lands 
newly  discovered,  or  to  be  discovered,  as  far  as  180  degrees 
to  the  west  of  this  line. ;  and  to  Portugal  all  that  lay  within 
the  same  extent  eastward  of  the  meridian  assumed. 

Neither  England  nor  France  acknowledged  any  right 
inherent  in  the  pope  to  make  such  magnificent  gifts  of 


JOHN  CABOT'S  VOYAGE.  19 

unknown  territory.  The  former  power  sent  out  discoverers 
without  demanding  leave  of  his  holiness ;  and  the  French 
king  shrewdly  remarked,  that  he  should  like  to  see  the  will 
of  FATHER  ADAM  before  he  believed  such  donations  were 
made  exclusively  to  these  favoured  princes.  Though  neither 
Spain  nor  Portugal  questioned  the  inherent  right  of  the 
pope  to  gift  the  world  to  them  as  a  theatre  for  plunder  and 
spoliation,  where  they  might  at  their  pleasure  rob  the  hea- 
then or  gentiles,  as  the  Indians  were  called  by  the  early 
voyagers,  the  limits  of  partition  became  a  long  and  fertile 
subject  of  difference  between  themselves. 

After  the  discovery  of  Cuba  by  Columbus,  it  was  for  a 
time  believed  to  be  a  part  of  Asia,  and  the  continent  so  ar- 
dently sought ;  and,  by  a  subtle  and  selfish  interpretation 
of  the  papal  grant,  the  Spaniards  pretended  to  believe  that 
all  lands  reached  by  a  course  taken  from  the  west  of  this 
must  be  their  territory,  and  that  Portuguese  discovery  and 
lawful  dominion  could  only  be  prosecuted  and  acquired  from 
the  east.  This  belief,  real  or  pretended,  afforded  Spain  an- 
other motive  to  the  prosecution  of  more  distant  discoveries 
in  the  western  direction.  But  time  passed  on  ;  and  though 
the  existence  of  the  South  Sea,  long  a  probable  conjecture, 
became  every  year  more  confirmed,  little  progress  was  made 
in  useful  discovery  previous  to  the  memorable  voyage  of 
Magalhanes ;  though  repeated  attempts,  which  we  shall 
briefly  notice,  had  been  made  by  different  nations  to  discover 
the  desired  ocean. 

So  early  as  1496  the  English,  emulous  of  the  maritime 
glory  recently  acquired  by  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  indiffer- 
ent to  the  pope's  charter  of  donation,  fitted  out  an  armament 
for  discovery,  which  was  conducted,  under  letters-patent 
from  Henry  VII.,  by  John  Cabot,  a  native  of  Venice,  and 
his  three  sons,  Sebastian,  Lewis,  and  Sanctius.  It  appears 
to  have  been  his  object  to  seek  for  a  western  passage  to  the 
north  of  the  new  Spanish  discoveries,  and  to  reach  Cathay 
in  India  by  this  route.  In  prosecution  of  this  great  scheme 
Cabot,  in  1497,  discovered  the  American  continent,  proba- 
bly at  Newfoundland ;  and  his  son  Sebastian,  in  two  suc- 
cessive voyages  performed  in  1498  and  1517,  explored  a 
great  extent  of  the  coast,  from  Hudson's  Bay  on  the  north 
as  far  as  Virginia  on  the  south.  Although  unsuccessful  in 
the  attainment  of  their  immediate  object,  these  voyages  have 


20  THE    CORTEREALS. 

justly  entitled  the  English  to  the  high  distinction  of  being 
the  first  discoverers  of  the  American  continent. 

Thus  early  was  the  idea  of  a  north-west  passage  cherished 
in  England.  Three  years  after  the  voyage  of  Cabot  (in 
1500)  Gaspar  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese  gentleman,  under  the 
sanction  of  King  Emanuel,  pursued  the  track  of  the  Cabots 
for  the  same  object.  Sailing  along  the  east  coast  of  New- 
foundland, he  reached  the  northern  extremity  of  that  island, 
nnd  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which,  with 
some  appearance  of  probability,  he  concluded  to  be  the  open- 
ing to  the  west  which  he  sought.  He  sailed  also  along  the 
coast  of  Labrador,  and  appears  to  have  reached  nearly  to 
Hudson's  Bay,  whence  he  returned  to  Portugal  to  report 
his  discovery.  There  is  a  painful  interest  connected  with 
this  early  navigation.  On  a  second  voyage  undertaken  lo 
complete  the  discovery  the  ship  was  wrecked,  and  his  brother, 
Michael  Cortereal,  fitted  out  three  ships,  and  sailed  into 
these  unknown  seas  in  search  of  Gaspar.  The  vessels  ar- 
rived at  a  part  of  the  coast  where  there  were  several  inlets 
and  rivers'  mouths  ;  and  each  ship,  in  the  hope  of  discover- 
ing the  wrecked  mariners,  took  a  different  course,  agreeing 
to  meet  on  a  fixed  day.  Two  of  the  vessels  found  the  ap- 
pointed rendezvous,  but  the  unfortunate  Michael  shared  the 
fate  of  the  brother  he  had  come  to  succour.  Neither  of  them 
were  ever  heard  of  more.  The  third  and  eldest  Cortereal 
still  remained,  and  held  a  high  appointment  at  the  court  of 
Emanuel.  He  would  now  have  devoted  himself  to  the 
search  of  his  brothers,  probably  still  surviving  and  languish- 
ing upon  some  barbarous  coast ;  but  his  affectionate  design 
was  overruled  by  the  king,  who  would  not  consent  to  a  third 
sacrifice.  In  memory  of  the  disastrous  fortunes  of  the  Cor- 
tereals,  it  is  said  that  the  sea  at  the  entry  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence was  long  called  by  the  Portuguese  The  Gulf  of  the 
Three  Brothers. 

|  Though  important  discoveries  and  improvements  were 
made  in  nautical  and  geographical  science  during  the  fif- 
teenth century,  navigation  remained  for  many  generations 
subsequent  to  the  voyages  of  the  Cortereals  uncertain  and 
imperfect ;  nor  was  it  till  the  era  of  Cook  that  those  subor- 
dinate contrivances  and  that  system  of  discipline  and  inter- 
nal regulation  which  now  ensure  the  health  and  comfort 
of  seamen  on  long  voyages  were  at  all  known.  All  distant 


VICENTE    YANEZ    PINZON.  21 

maritime  undertakings  were  attended  with  uncertainty,  if 
not  with  great  peril ;  and  in  the  early  periods  of  American 
discovery  the  loss  of  life  was  immense,  though  it  often  arose 
as  much  from  privation  and  hardship  as  from  shipwreck. 
There  is,  however,  a  class  of  hardy  and  resolute  spirits  on 
whom  danger  acts  as  the  strongest  stimulant  to  renewed 
effort ;  and  a  single  instance  of  success,  or  the  report  of  one, 
was  sufficient  to  obliterate  the  memory  of  a  hundred  fail- 
ures. No  sooner  was  one  band  destroyed  than  a  new  one 
embarked  in  the  same  perilous  track,  in  the  pursuit  of  fame 
and  wealth,  or  impelled  by  that  restless  and  roving  spirit 
of  adventure  which  marks  the  man  who  is  born  a  sailor. 

Among  the  most  renowned  of  these  adventurous  voyagers 
was  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  one  of  three  intrepid  brothers, 
who  by  their  means  and  their  influence  aided  Columbus  in 
overcoming  the  many  obstacles  which  opposed  his  daring 
and  doubtful  enterprise,  and  became  the  companions  of  his 
first  great  voyage.  Dissensions  and  jealousies  afterward 
sprung  up  among  these  friends,  and  their  succeeding  enter- 
prises were  prosecuted  apart.  Of  these  the  most  memo- 
rable was  undertaken  by  Vicente  Yanez  after  the  death  of 
his  elder  brother,  Martin  Alonzo.  In  December,  1499,  he 
sailed  from  the  small  port  of  Palos,*  in  Andalusia,  with  an 
armament  of  four  caravels,  and  accompanied  by  two  sons 
of  his  deceased  brother  and  some  of  the  seamen  and  pilots 
who  had  sailed  with  Columbus  in  his  late  expedition  to  the 
coast  of  Paria.  Passing  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  the  ex- 
pedition sailed  about  threef  hundred  leagues  south-west. 
They  had  scarcely  passed  the  equinoctial  line  when  the  fleet 
was  overtaken  by  a  fearful  tempest.  The  ships  drifted  on 
before  the  hurricane  at  a  furious  rate,  and  drove  so  far  south, 
that  when  the  storm  abated  and  the  heavens  brightened  the 
polar  star  was  no  longer  to  be  seen.^  The  dismay  of  these 
mariners,  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean,  deprived  of  their  only 
guide,  may  be  conceived.  The  beautiful  constellation  of  this 

*  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Palos  the  descendants  of  the  Pinzons  flou- 
rish to  this  day,  in  much  the  same  condition  as  when  their  ancestors 
embarked  with  Columbus,  "a  stanch, en puring  family,  which  for  three 
centuries  has  stood  merely  upon  its  virtues."  For  this  knowledge  we 
are  indebted  to  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  whose  pilgrimage  to  Palos  forms 
a  romantic  sequel  to  his  Life  of  Columbus. 

t  In  Mr.  Washington  Irving's  relation  of  this  voyage  the  distance  i* 
made  seven  hundred  leagues,  which  is  evidently  a  misprint. 


VICENTE    YAXEZ    PINZON. 

new  hemisphere,  the  SOUTH  CROSS,  was  not  yet  hecome 
the  cynosure  of  the  wanderer  in  these  untracked  seas.  But 
the  continent  had  now  been  discovered  ;  and  Pinzon,  aware 
of  the  rich  field  which  lay  before  him,  was  resolutely  bent 
on  exploring  its  coasts.  He  made  sail  south-west,  and,  pro- 
ceeding about  two  hundred  and  forty  leagues,  in  8  degrees 
south,  on  the  20th  January,  1500,  beheld  land  in  the  dis- 
tance, which  they  named  Santa  Maria  de  la  Consolacion, 
now  known  as  Cape  St.  Augustine,  a  point  on  the  most 
prominent  part  of  the  immense  empire  of  Brazil.  Pinzon 
went  on  shore,  and  with  the  usual  formalities  took  posses- 
sion of  this  territory  for  the  crown  of  Spain.  At  this  time 
no  natives  were  seen,  though  large  footprints  were  traced 
on  the  sand  ;  but  at  night  fires  were  beheld  on  the  coast,  and 
next  day  the  Spaniards  landed,  and  were  encountered  by  a 
hand  of  Indians  of  a  more  fierce  and  warlike  character  than 
any  of  those  in  more  northern  latitudes  with  whom  previous 
experience  had  familiarized  them.  They  were  men  of  large 
stature,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  of  ferocious  features 
and  haughty  looks,  who  regarded  the  glittering  toys  and 
trinkets  spread  out  to  gain  their  friendship  with  indifference 
or  contempt.  They  were  a  nomadic  race,  and  prowled 
about  chiefly  in  the  night.  Baffled  here,  Pinzon  held  south- 
west along  the  coast,  and  approached  one  of  his  greatest 
discoveries.  At  its  threshold  a  painful  adventure  occurred. 
Coming  to  the  mouth  of  a  river  too  shallow  to  admit  the 
ships,  he  sent  the  boats  on  shore  filled  with  men  well  armed. 
From  the  banks  of  the  river  they  saw  a  number  of  Indians 
on  an  adjoining  height ;  and  a  single  Spaniard,  armed  with 
his  sword  and  buckler,  ventured  to  approach  them,  making 
signs  of  amity,  and  inviting  a  return  of  kindness.  He  threw 
them  a  string  of  hawks'  bells,  the  jingle  of  which  made 
this  a  favourite  toy  with  the  simple  children  of  the  New 
World.  While  he  picked  up  a  piece  ^f  gold  which  the 
natives  threw  to  him,  they  rushed  down  to  overpower  and 
seize  him,  but  not  before  he  stood  on  the  defensive,  wielding 
his  sword  so  dexterously  that  he  held  them  at  bay  till  his 
comrades  came  up  to  his  assistance.  The  single-handed 
valour  of  the  soldier  had  at  first  somewhat  discomfited  the 
Indians  ;  but  they  speedily  rallied,  killed  eight  or  ten  of  the 
(Spaniards  with  their  darts  and  arrows,  and  pursued  the 
whole  party  even  into  the  water,  where  they  seized  and  bore 


VICENTE    YANEZ    PINZON.  23 

off  one  of  the  boats.  The  desperate  defence  of  the  Span- 
iards, who  pierced  through  or  ripped  up  many  of  the  natives, 
only  served  to  inflame  the  valour  and  ferocity  of  their 
brother-warriors  ;  and  the  Europeans,  defeated  and  dis- 
heartened, were  glad,  after  severe  loss  and  complete  defeat, 
to  retire  to  their  ships  unrevenged.  On  sailing  north-west 
forty  leagues  farther,  the  seamen  were  astonished  to  find 
the  water  of  the  ocean  so  fresh  that  it  could  be  employed  for 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  the  fleet,  and  even  to  fill  the  casks. 
From  this  circumstance  Pinzon  naturally  inferred  the  size 
of  that  mighty  river,  the  streams  of  which  actually  fresh- 
ened the  Atlantic  for  many  leagues  from  the  shore,  and  also 
the  extent  of  the  vast  continent  whence  its  waters  were  col- 
lected and  through  which  they  flowed.  Thus  was  discov- 
ered the  far-famed  Maranon,  now  known  as  the  river  of  Ama- 
zons, or  rather  as  the  Orellana  and  the  Amazon.  At  seve- 
ral of  the  islands  lying  along  the  banks  of  this  immense 
river  Pinzon's  company  landed.  The  natives  were  found  a 
free-hearted,  kindly,  confiding  race,  ready  to  share  whatever 
they  possessed  with  their  visitors,  who,  after  the'  approved 
custom  of  Spanish  navigators,  repaid  this  trustfulness  and 
hospitality  by  making  thirty-six  of  the  Indians  captives. 
Still  holding  northward,  the  crew,  after  many  perils,  had 
the  felicity  once  more  to  greet  the  polar  star.  Passing  the 
Oronoko,  Pinzon,  in  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  took  in  a  cargo  of 
that  wood  which  gives  the  name  of  Brazil  to  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  continent ;  and  issuing  by  the  Dragon's  Throat, 
the  fleet  steered  for  Hispaniola. 

This  voyage,  which  was  full  of  vicissitude  and  perilous 
adventure,  terminated  in  nothing  of  present  importance, 
though  Pinzon  was  willing  to  flatter  himself  that  he  had 
found  the  East  Indies  ;  and  carried  home  whatever  gaudy 
weeds  attracted  the  notice  of  his  people,  as  specimens  of 
the  valuable  spices  and  drugs  which  were  known  to  abound 
in  these  regions.  The  only  valuable  production  was  the 
die-wood ;  and  the  greatest  curiosity  an  opossum,  which 
found  far  more  favour  at  the  court  of  Spain  than  any  other 
of  its  fellow-passengers. 

Seven  years  later,  a  new  voyage  was  undertaken  by 
Vicente  Yanez  and  De  Solis,  for  the  specific  purpose  of 
discovering  the  western  passage  to  the  East  Indies.  He 
had  previously  examined  the  whole  coast  from  Paria  to 


21        LAST  VOYAGE  OF  COLUMBUS. 

Darien.  This  new  expedition  sailed  in  June,  1508,  and  the 
navigators  being  now  familiarized  with  the  track,  they  at 
once  stood  for  Cape  St.  Augustine.  Coasting  to  40  de- 
grees south,  they  here  and  there  landed  and  erected  crosses, 
the  usual  signs  of  taking  possession  for  the  King  of  Cas- 
tile. Jealousies  and  disputes,  the  bane  of  so  many  con- 
joined maritime  expeditions,  terminated  this  unsatisfac- 
torily ;  and  the  commanders  returned  in  the  following  year 
to  Spain,  to  refer  their  disputes  to  the  government,  which 
ended  in  De  Solis  being  for  a  time  thrown  into  prison. 

Roderigo  de  Bastida,  a  Spanish  gentleman,  in  1500, 
fitted  out  an  expedition  of  two  ships,  in  partnership  with 
John  de  la  Cosa,  who  had  been  a  pilot  under  Columbus, 
and  was  accounted  an  experienced  and  skilful  mariner. 
They  steered  directly  for  the  continent,  and  discovered  the 
land  now  called  the  Spanish  Main.  Though  they  encoun- 
tered many  diiliculties  their  voyage  was  prosperous  ; — but 
the  desired  strait  was  not  yet  found. 

In  the  year  following  the  shipwreck  of  the  Cortnvals, 
1501,  Americus  Vespucius,  a  Florentine  in  the  service  of 
the  King  of  Portugal,  explored  the  coast  of  South  America, 
which  did  not  then  bear  his  name,  for  600  leagues  to  the 
south,  and  from  Cape  St.  Augustine  150  leagues  to  the 
west,  without,  however,  falling  in  with  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
which,  when  subsequently  discovered,  was  imagined  the 
entrance  to  a  strait  leading  to  the  Western  Ocean. 

Columbus,  haunted  to  his  last  hour  with  the  desire  of 
penetrating  to  India  through  the  sea  which  he  confidently 
believed  lay  to  the  west  of  the  New  World,  now  far  ad- 
vanced in  life,  and  suffering  the  penalties  of  a  premature 
old  age,  was  vainly  soliciting  at  the  ungrateful  court  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella  the  means  of  prosecuting  his  great 
discovery  to  a  favourable  termination,  when  the  Portuguese 
fleet,  loaded  with  the  most  precious  and  rare  commodities 
of  oriental  countries,  returned  to  Lisbon.  From  the  do- 
minions of  those  "  gentile  nations,"  existing  in  the  East 
in  a  state  of  high  civilization  and  refinement,  and  where 
commerce,  industry,  and  the  arts  had  long  flourished,  Spain 
had  hitherto  derived  no  advantage.  Avarice  and  ambition 
were  aroused  by  the  view  of  her  rival's  prosperity ;  and 
what  had  been  refused  to  the  prayer  of  Columbus  was 
granted  to  the  hope  of  fresh  conquest,  and  of  spoils  from 


VASCO    NUNEZ    DE    BALBOA.  25 

that  seat  of  pomp,  riches,  and  elegance  which  might  he 
reached  by  a  nearer  and  more  secure  path  that  should 
belong  exclusively  to  Spain.  Columbus  accordingly  ob- 
tained a  small  armament,  but  once  more  failed  in  his  main 
object,  though  he  made  several  important  discoveries. 
The  issue  of  this  last  voyage  was,  however,  most  disas- 
trous to  himself;  and,  foiled  and  baffled,  persecuted  and 
heart-broken,  he  abandoned  for  ever  his  darling  scheme  of 
pursuing  that  grand  discovery  of  which  the  West  Indies 
and  the  American  continent  now  appeared  to  him  but  the 
first  step. 

In  the  years  immediately  subsequent,  many  discoveries 
were  made  on  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  America,  sometimes 
when  the  adventurers  were  in  pursuit  of  wild  and  fantastic 
objects.  Among  the  wonders  of  the  New  World  was  the 
Fountain  of  Youth,  situated,  according  to  Indian  tradition, 
in  the  fabled  island  of  Bimini,  and  possessing  the  power  of 
renewing  youth  and  restoring  vigour  to  whoever  dipped  in 
its  waters.  It  is  but  fair  to  suppose  that  some  of  these 
marvellous  legends  were  employed  by  the  adventurers  as 
pious  frauds  to  engage  their  mutinous  but  credulous  fol- 
lowers in  dangerous  and  difficult  enterprises.  While  in 
search  of  this  marvellous  fountain,  Juan  Ponce  discovered 
the  blooming  coast  which  he  named  Florida.  But,  amid 
many  discoveries,  no  nearer  approach  was  made  to  that 
ocean  which,  it  was  now  clear  to  demonstration,  must  wash 
the  western  shores  of  the  new  continent,  as  it  was  unques- 
tionably ascertained  that  the  east  coast  of  China  was 
bounded  by  an  open  sea. 

The  discovery  made  in  1513  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa, 
governor  of  a  colony  established  at  Santa  Maria  in  Darien, 
was  confirmation  beyond  dispute.  He  had  seen  this  ocean 
with  his  eyes,  and  had  plunged  into  its  waves.  The  de- 
sire of  gold,  the  main  object  of  all  the  subordinate  adven- 
turers, was  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  discovery  of  the  South 
Sea.  Vasco  Nunez,  a  man  of  talents,  and  of  the  highest 
courage  and  capacity,  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of 
the  companions  of  Columbus.  While  living  at  his  little 
government  he  made  many  incursions  into  the  interior,  and, 
being  of  a  free  and  generous  nature,  he  often  gained  the 
good-will  of  the  caciques  whom  he  had  conquered.  He 
arid  his  followers  in  these  predatory  adventures  had  thus 
C 


26  FURTHER   DISCOVERIES. 

acquired  a  considerable  quantity  of  gold, — which  the  In- 
dians justly  called  the  god  of  the  Spaniards, — and  also 
knowledge  of  the  interior.  The  first  distinct  intimation  of 
the  mighty  ocean  to  the  west  was  indirectly  given  while  the 
followers  of  Vasco  Nunez  quarrelled  about  the  division  of 
their  spoils.  "  Why,"  exclaimed  a  young  cacique,  indig- 
nantly throwing  the  gold  out  of  the  scales, — "  why  quar- 
rel for  this  trash  1  If  you  are  so  passionately  fond  of  gold, 
as  for  its  sake  to  abandon  your  own  country,  and  disturb 
the  tranquillity  of  ours,  I  will  lead  you  to  a  region  where 
the  meanest  utensil  is  formed  of  this  metal  which  seems 
so  much  the  object  of  your  admiration."  Balboa  eagerly 
caught  at  the  indication,  and,  with  incredible  hardship, 
crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  that  great  glen  of  the  New 
World,  and,  from  the  summit  where  Captain  Drake  after- 
ward stood,  beheld  the  South  Sea  rolling  below,  and 
stretching  away  in  boundless  perspective.  Coming  to  a 
vast  bay,  which  he  named  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  Balbon, 
displaying  a  banner,  marched  knee-deep  into  the  rushing 
tide,  and  took  possession  of  all  those  seas  and  shores.  He 
exacted  contributions  in  gold  and  provisions ;  and  being 
told  by  the  natives  of  a  country  to  the  south  where  the 
people  possessed  abundance  of  gold,  and  used  beasts  of 
burden,  the  rude  figure  of  the  lama  traced  on  the  beach 
suggested  to  him  the  camel,  the  slave  of  man  in  the  East, 
and  confirmed  him  in  the  opinion  of  the  close  vicinity  of 
the  East  Indies.  Tidings  of  this  great  discovery  were 
immediately  transmitted  to  Spain,  and  received  with  de- 
light and  triumph. 

After  the  premature  and  violent  death  of  Vasco  Nunez, 
the  colony  on  the  Darien  continued  to  extend  their  know- 
ledge of  the  Pacific,  and  to  make  excursions  in  small  barks, 
and  form  trifling  settlements.  Larger  vessels  were  soon 
constructed ;  and  violently  taking  possession  of  some 
small  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  which  they 
named  the  Pearl  Islands,  the  Spaniards  exacted  from  their 
conquered  subjects  a  large  annual  tribute  in  pearls.  Such 
were  the  first-fruits  of  European  dominion  in  the  Pacific. 

As  the  hope  of  reaching  the  oriental  Spice  Islands  by  a 
passage  through  a  strait  decayed,  the  design  was  formed 
of  establishing  a  regular  intercourse  across  the  isthmus, 
and  an  entrepot  between  the  Old  and  the  New  World ; 


EXPEDITION    OF    MAGELLAN.  27 

and  a  settlement  was  formed  at  Panama,  from  whence 
vessels  were  to  visit  those  eastern  isles.  This  scheme  also 
failed ;  and  after  the  return  to  Spain  of  an  expedition  of 
discovery  frustrated  by  the  accidental  death  of  De  Solis, 
who,  in  discovering  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  was  murdered  hy 
the  natives,  the  voyage  of  Magellan  was  undertaken. 

Fernando  Magalhanes  was  a  native  of  Portugal,  and 
had  served  with  reputation  under  Albuquerque  in  India. 
Disgusted  at  the  neglect  shown  to  him  by  his  own  court,* 
he  offered  his  services  to  Charles  V. ;  and  they  were  doubly 
welcome,  as  his  cosmography  enabled  him  to  demonstrate 
that  the  Molucca  Islands,  which  he  undertook  to  reach 
through  a  strait  in  the  American  continent,  fell  within  the 
boundary  of  the  pope's  grant  to  Spain.  Following  the 
approved  fashion  of  too  many  courts,  and  discovering 
too  late  the  merit  they  had  contemned,  the  Portuguese  re- 
monstrated through  their  ambassador,  and  even  tried  to  bribe 
back  the  man  they  had  insulted.  But  Magellan  preferred 
the  service  of  Charles  V. ;  and  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1519,  the  five  ships  which  formed  his  squadron  sailed  from 
San  Lucar  on  one  of  the  most  celebrated  voyages  the 
world  had  yet  witnessed.  On  the  26th  the  fleet  took  in 
wood  and  water  at  Teneriffe ;  and  on  the  13th  December 
came  to  anchor  in  a  port  they  named  Santa  Lucia,  in  the 
20th  degree  of  south  latitude,  and  on  the  coast  of  Brazil. 
This  has  sometimes  been  supposed  the  Rio  de  Janeiro  of  the 
Portuguese,  but  modern  observation  does  not  confirm  the 
opinion.  The  natives  immediately  surrounded  the  ships 
in  their  canoes.  They  appeared  a  confiding,  credulous, 
good-hearted  race,  and  readily  gave  provisions  in  exchange 
for  trifling  wares.  Pigafetta  Vicentia,  a  chronicler  of  the 
voyage  and  a  lover  of  the  marvellous,  says,  "  It  was  not 
uncommon  to  see  men  of  125  or  140  years  old  among 
them."  They  were  believed  to  be  without  religion,  and 
lived  in  large  communities  rather  than  in  households,  one 
noisy  cabin  containing  a  hundred  families.  Of  these  peo- 
ple we  are  told,  that  on  first  seeing  the  ships'  boats  un- 
loosened, they  named  them  the  children  of  the  ships,  and 
fancied  they  had  been  sucking  their  mothers.  That  they 

*  In  an  old  voyage  we  see  it  stated,  that  the  cause  of  Magellan's  dis- 
gust was  being  refused  an  addition  to  his  pay,  which  would  amount  to 
•bout  an  English  crown  a  month  i 


28  HE    REACHES    PORT    ST.  JULIAN. 

really  believed  what  the  structure  or  the  poverty  of 
their  language  indicated  to  the  Spaniards  is  beyond  proba- 
bility. They  brought  the  Spaniards  baskets  of  potatoes, 
or  batatcsj  the  name  they  gave  to  a  species  of  the  root  now 
known  over  all  the  civilized  world ;  Pigafetta  says  they 
resemblod  turnips,  and  tasted  like  chestnuts.  These  na- 
tives of  Brazil  had  short  curly  hair.  They  ate  their  ene- 
mies, painted  their  faces  and  bodies,  and  the  men  perfo- 
rated their  lips  in  three  places,  into  which  ornaments  made 
of  flint  were  introduced. 

Weighing  anchor  on  the  27th  December  the  squadron 
sailed  southward,  and  on  the  llth  January  reached  Cape 
Santa  Maria  on  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  took  in  wood  and 
water.  Near  this  place  Juan  de  Solis  had  about  seven  years 
before  been  murdered  by  the  natives,  and  the  Indians  now 
kept  at  a  wary  distance  from  their  visiters.  Sailing  north- 
ward, and  touching  at  different  places,  the  fleet,  on  Easter 
Eve,  1520,  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  port  which  they  named 
St.  Julian  ;  and  there  Magellan  remained  for  five  months. 
Discontent,  and  at  last  open  mutiny,  broke  out  in  the  fleet, 
and  was  only  quelled  by  great,though,  in  the  circumstances 
of  Magellan,  justifiable  severity,  as  the  ringleaders  were 
among  the  Spanish  officers,  who  grumbled  at  the  authority 
of  a  Portuguese  commander. 

While  the  fleet  lay  in  Port  St.  Julian,  the  Santiago,  one 
of  the  ships,  made  an  exploratory  cruise,  and  on  the  3d 
May,  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Cross,  discovered  the  river 
named  Santa  Cruz,  in  which  the  vessel  was  afterward 
wrecked.  The  crew,  after  suffering  great  hardship,  ulti- 
mately rejoined  the  squadron.  The  long  period  which  the 
fleet  passed  in  Port  St.  Julian  enabled  the  Spaniards  to 
form  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  natives.  They 
had  at  first  concluded  the  country  uninhabited ;  but  one 
day  an  Indian,  well  made  and  of  gigantic  size,  came  caper- 
ing and  singing  to  the  beach,  throwing  dust  upon  his  head 
in  token  of  amity.  A  Spanish  seaman  was  sent  on  shore, 
and  directed  to  imitate  the  gestures  of  this  merry  savage, 
who  was  of  such  immense  stature  that  a  middle-sized  Cas- 
tilian  only  reached  to  his  waist.  He  was  large  in  propor- 
tion, and  altogether  a  formidable  apparition,  his  body  being 
painted  all  over,  his  broad  face  stained  red,  save  a  yellow 
circle  about  his  eyes.  A  couple  of  stag's  horns  adorned 


DRESS  AND  MANNERS  OF  THE  PATAGONIANS.     29 

each  cheek.  His  favourite  colour  seemed  to  be  yellow, 
which  has  a  good  effect  upon  a  dark  ground.  His  hair  was 
covered  with  a  white  powder.  His  clothing,  formed  of  the 
skins  of  the  guanaco,*  covered  his  body  from  head  to  foot, 
wrapping  round  the  arms  and  legs,  and  was  sewed  together 
all  in  one  piece,  like  the  dress  of  the  ancient  Irish.  Shoes 
made  of  the  skins  of  the  same  animal,  which  made  the  feet 
of  the  Indians  appear  round  and  large,  procured  for  these 
tribes  the  name  of  Pata-gones,  or  clumsy-hoofed,  the  origin 
of  the  term  Patagonians.  The  arms  of  the  Patagonian 
were  a  stout  bow  and  arrow, — the  former  strung  with  gut, 
the  latter  tipped  with  flint-stones  sharpened.  The  voice 
of  this  man  was  like  that  of  a  bull.  He  went  aboard  the 
ship  of  the  captain-general,  where  he  appeared  quite  at  his 
ease,  ate,  drank,  and  made  merry,  till,  seeing  his  own  image 
in  a  large  looking-glass,  he  started  back  in  alarm,  and  threw 
down  four  Spaniards.  The  good  reception  of  the  first  giant 
brought  more  to  the  beach,  who  were  taken  on  board  and 
feasted,  six  of  them  eating  as  much  as  would  have  satisfied 
twenty  Spaniards.  The  first  Indian  had  pointed  to  the 
sky,  as  if  to  inquire  whether  the  Europeans  had  descended 
from  thence  ;  and  they  all  wondered  that  the  ships  should 
be  so  large  and  the  men  so  small.  They  were  in  general 
dressed  and  armed  like  the  first  visiter.  They  had  short 
hair,  and  carried  their  arrows  stuck  in  a  fillet  bound  round 
their  heads.  They  ran  with  amazing  swiftness,  and  de- 
voured their  meat  raw  as  soon  as  it  was  obtained.  These 
tribes  practised  bleeding  by  rudely  cupping  the  part  affected, 
and  produced  vomiting  by  thrusting  an  arrow  eighteen 
inches  long  down  the  throat  of  the  patient.  Magellan 
wished  to  carry  home  some  of  this  singular  race,  and  Eu- 
ropean craft  was  basely  opposed  to  Indian  confidence  and 
credulity.  Fixing  on  two  of  the  youngest  and  handsomest 
of  the  Indians,  he  presented  them  with  toys,  trinkets,  and 
iron,  till  their  hands  were  filled  ;  then,  as  ornaments,  rings 
of  iron  were  put  upon  their  legs,  by  which  they  were  fet- 
tered. Their  struggles  for  freedom,  and  shrieking  to  their 

*  The  camelus  hunanaeus  of  Linnaeus,  a  species  of  lama.    This 

animal,  described  by  Pigafetta  as  having  the  body  of  a  camel,  the  legs  of 

a  stag,  the  tail  of  a  horse,  and  the  head  and  ears  of  a  mule,  excited  great 

amazement  among  the  Spanish  seamen. 

C2 


30       DISCOVERY  OF  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 

god  Setebos,*  only  excited  the  mockery  of  those  who,  infe- 
rior in  strength,  had  overmastered  them  by  cunning  and 
treachery.  Their  chief  demon  could  not  emancipate  them 
from  the  power  of  the  inhospitable  Spaniards.  A  plan  to 
secure  two  females,  that  the  breed  of  giants  might  be  in- 
troduced into  Europe,  failed,  and  Magellan  lost  one  of  his 
company  in  the  infamous  stratagem  employed  to  entrap  the 
women. 

On  the  24th  August  the  fleet  left  Port  St.  Julian,  after 
taking  possession  of  the  country  for  the  King  of  Spain  by 
the  customary  ceremonial  of  erecting  a  cross, — the  symbol 
of  salvation  so  often  degraded  into  an  ensign  of  usurpation, 
if  not  of  rapacity  and  cruelty,  in  the  fairest  portions  of  the 
New  World.  Two  months  were  afterward  passed  at  the 
newly-discovered  Santa  Cruz,  where  the  squadron  was  well 
supplied  with  wood  and  water ;  and  on  the  18th  October 
they  stood  southward,  and  discovered  Cape  de  las  Virgines, 
and  shortly  afterward  the  desired  strait.  After  careful 
examination  of  the  entrance,  a  council  was  held,  at  which 
the  pilot,  Estevan  Gomez,  voted  for  returning  to  Spain  to 
refit ;  while  the  bolder  and  more  resolute  spirits  were 
decicted  to  proceed  and  complete  their  discovery.  Magellan 
heard  all  in  silence,  and  then  firmly  declared,  that  were  he, 
instead  of  the  slighter  hardships  already  suffered,  reduced 
to  eat  the  hides,  or  the  ship's  yards,  his  determination  was 
to  make  good  his  promise  to  the  emperor.  On  pain  of 
death  every  one  was  forbidden  to  speak  of  the  shortness  of 
provisions  or  of  home, — which,  though  a  somewhat  un- 
satisfactory mode  of  stifling  the  pangs  of  hunger  or  the  long- 
ings of  affection,  equally  well  answered  the  purpose  of  the 
captain-general. 

The  fleet  were  now  in  the  strait,  and  on  the  first  night 
saw  on  the  south  shore  many  fires,  and  gave  that  land  the 
long  familiar  name  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  As  we  must 
hereafter  follow  the  navigation  of  Drake  through  Magel- 
lan's Straits,  it  is  enough  to  record,  that,  thirty-seven  days 
after  he  had  discovered  Cape  de  las  Virgines,  Magellan,  on 
seeing  the  South  Sea  expanding  before  him,  burst  into  a 
passion  of  tears,  and  ordered  public  thanksgiving  to  be 

*  The  demon  of  Caliban's  dam,  and  supposed  to  be  borrowed  by  Shaks- 
peare  from  the  narrative  of  this  voyage. 


ARCHIPELAGO  OF  ST.  LAZARTJS.  31 

made  by  the  fleet.  The  strait  was  found  to  be  110  leagues 
in  length. 

The  loss  of  the  Santiago,  and  the  desertion  of  the  St. 
Antonio  at  the  eastern  entrance,  had  now  reduced  the  fleet 
to  three  ships.  With  these  Magellan  held  a  northerly 
course,  to  reach  a  milder  climate,  the  crews  having  already 
suffered  severely  from  extreme  cold,  and  also  to  escape  the 
storms  encountered  about  the  western  opening  of  the 
strait. 

On  the  24th  January,  1521,  they  discovered  an  island, 
which  was  named  San  Pablo  in  memory  of  the  last  of  the 
two  captive  Patagonians,  who  died  here  after  receiving  bap- 
tism ;  and  on  the  4th  February  another  small  island  was 
seen,  and  called  Tiburones,  or  Sharks'  Island.  The  fleet 
had  now  suffered  so  much  from  the  want  of  provisions  and 
fresh  water,  and  from  the  ravages  of  the  scurvy,  that, 
depressed  by  their  condition  and  prospects,  they  named  the 
next  discoveries  the  Unfortunate  Islands.  The  sufferings 
of  the  crews,  for  three  months  after  entering  the  Pacific, 
are  too  painful  to  be  related.  Twenty  died  of  mere  ex- 
haustion, or  of  scurvy  ;  and  the  condition  of  the  remainder, 
reduced  to  chew  the  leather  found  about  the  ropes  of  the 
ship,  and  to  drink  salt  water,  was  one  of  the  severest  dis- 
tress. Their  only  solace  was  a  series  of  delightful  weather ; 
fair  winds  carrying  them  smoothly  onwards.  To  this  cir- 
cumstance the  South  Sea  owes  its  name  of  Pacific,  a  title 
which  many  succeeding  seamen  have  thought  it  ill  deserved. 
Now  we  first  hear  of  Europeans  seeing  from  the  Pacific  the 
star  of  the  South  Pole.  On  the  6th  of  March  land  was 
discovered  ;  at  first  three  fair  and  apparently  fertile  islands, 
inhabited  and  likely  to  afford  succour  to  the  fleet.  The 
Indians  immediately  came  off  to  the  ships  in  their  canoes, 
bringing  cocoanuts,  yams,  and  rice.  On  these  poor  island- 
ers, whose  thievish  propensities  obtained  for  this  group  the 
appellation  of  the  Ladrones,  Magellan  took  signal  vengeance 
for  small  offence.  A  skiff  was  stolen  from  the  side  of  the 
Capitana,  or  admiral's  ship,  upon  which  Magellan  landed 
with  ninety  men,  burnt  huts,  plundered  provisions,  and 
killed  some  of  the  natives,  who  are  described  as  a  simple, 
and  harmless,  unresisting  race.  From  the  IGth  to  the  18th 
of  March  other  islands  were  discovered,  forming  the  group 
then  called  the  Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus,  but  now  known 


32  MANNERS  OF  THE  ISLANDERS. 

as  part  of  the  Philippines.  The  inhaoitants  were  found  to 
be  a  friendly  and  comparatively  civilized  people.  Thoy 
wore  ornaments  of  gold  ;  and,  though  otherwise  nearly 
naked,  had  headdresses  of  embroidered  silk.  They  were 
tattooed,  and  perfumed  their  bodies  with  aromatized  oils. 
They  cultivated  the  land,  raised  crops,  and  formed  stores  of 
spices.  On  the  25th  the  fleet  left  Humunu,  the  principal 
island  of  the  group,  and  afterward  touched  at  different 
islands  of  the  same  archipelago.  The  picture  given  of  these 
islanders  by  the  early  navigators  is  especially  attractive  and 
interesting,  from  being  the  first  account  obtained  by  Euro- 
peans of  the  tribes  of  Polynesia ;  but,  in  the  voyages  of 
Drake  and  Dampier,  we  shall  meet  with  them  again  un- 
changed in  any  respect,  and  under  the  observation  of  more 
enlightened  and  accurate  historians  than  the  credulous 
Pigafetta. 

At  a  small  island  named  Mazagua,  and  supposed  to  be 
the  Limasava  of  modern  charts,  a  slave  on  board  the  fleet, 
by  name  Enrique  and  a  native  of  Sumatra,  was  able  to 
make  himself  understood  by  the  natives,  and  acted  as  the 
interpreter  of  Magellan  in  explaining  the  reasons  of  the 
visit  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the  terms  of  peaceful  commerce 
and  friendly  intercourse  which  they  wished  to  establish 
between  themselves  and  the  islanders.  Mutual  presents 
were  made,  and  ceremonial  visits  exchanged  ;  the  captain- 
general  doing  every  thing  likely  to  impress  the  Indians  with 
the  power  and  superiority  of  Europeans,  and  the  dignity 
of  the  king  his  master.  At  this  island  the  chief,  with 
whom  Magellan  formed  a  close  friendship,  was  served  in 
vessels  of  porcelain  and  of  gold.  The  Spaniards  saw  can- 
dles made  of  gums,  rolled  up  in  palm-leaves.  The  chief, 
or  king,  was  a  remarkably  handsome  man,  of  olive  com- 
plexion, with  long  black  hair ;  his  body  elegantly  tattooed, 
and  perfumed  with  gums  and  vegetable  oils.  He  was 
adorned  with  gold  earrings,  and  on  each  finger  wore  three 
rings.*  About  his  middle  he  wore  a  tunic  of  cotton  cloth 
embroidered  with  silk  and  gold,  which  descended  to  the 
ki^ee*  ;  and  wrapped  around  his  head  was  a  turban  or  veil 

*  There  is  a  learned  dispute  among  the  old  critics  on  the  early 
voyages,  whether  the  Latin  narrative  is  here  accurately  translated, 
— rings  of  gold  on  the  fingers,— instead  of  sixns  of  kold  on  the 
teeth. 


ISLAND    OF    ZEBU.  33 

of  silk.  A  long  dagger  worn  at  the  side,  with  a  handle  of 
gold,  and  a  scabbard  of  exquisitely-carved  wood,  completed 
the  handsome  costume  of  this  semi-barbaric  prince.  At 
this  island  we  first  hear  of  the  betel  and  areca.  At  meals 
the  chief  sat  cross-legged  in  the  Turkish  fashion ;  and, 
Pigafetta  says,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  before  eating, 
though  entirely  ignorant  of  Christianity  ; — before  drinking, 
the  king  always  raised  his  hands  to  heaven.  His  native 
title  was  rajah.  The  people  here  acknowledged  one  Su- 
preme Being  whom  they  called  Abba,  and  whom  they  wor- 
shipped lifting  their  heads  and  clasped  hands  towards 
heaven.  Magellan  was  at  this  time  first  seized  with  the 
violent  desire  of  making  proselytes,  in  which  he  easily 
succeeded.  A  cross  was  erected  on  a  hill-top,  which, 
the  natives  were  told,  if  duly  adored  would  defend  them 
from  lightning,  tempest,  and  all  calamities.  Such  were  the 
first  Christian  missionary  labours  among  these  Indian 
islands.  Gold  was  seen  here  in  some  abundance,  vessels 
and  ornaments  being  made  of  it ;  but  iron  was  more  valued, 
a  native  preferring  a  knife  to  a  double  pistole  offered  in  ex- 
change for  his  rice  and  bananas.  The  commodities  brought 
to  the  ships  were  hogs,  goats,  fowls,  rice,  millet,  maize, 
cocoanuts,  oranges,  citrons,  ginger,  and  figs.  On  the  re- 
quest of  the  rajah,  part  of  the  Spanish  crew  went  on  shore 
to  help  in  gathering  in  the  rice-harvest ;  but  the  poor 
prince,  who  had  assisted  on  the  previous  day  at  mass,  and 
afterward  at  a  banquet  given  by  Magellan,  had  either  sur- 
feited himself,  or  had  got  so  drunk  that  all  business  was 
deferred  till  the  next  day,  when  the  seamen  discharged  this 
neighbourly  office,  and  in  two  days  saw  harvest-home  in 
Mazagua. 

On  the  5th  of  April  the  fleet  sailed,  the  king  attending  it 
in  his  pirogue.  Being  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  squadron, 
he  was  taken  on  board  with  his  retinue  ;  and  on  the  7th 
April  they  entered  the  harbour  of  Zebu, — an  island  memo- 
rable from  the  death  of  Magellan,  and  as  the  place  where 
the  first  settlement  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  Philippines  was 
afterward  made.  The  accounts  which  the  captain-general 
had  received  of  the  riches  and  power  of  the  King  of  Zebu 
made  it  a  point  of  good  policy  to  impress  that  prince  and 
his  subjects  with  the  greatness  of  the  Spaniards.  The 
ships  entered  the  harbour  with  all  their  colours  flying ;  and 


34  CONVERSION    TO    CHRISTIANITY. 

a  grand  salute  from  all  the  cannon  caused  great  consterna- 
tion among  the  islanders.  An  ambassador,  attended  by  the 
interpreter  Enrique,  was  sent  on  shore,  charged  with  a 
message  importing  the  high  consideration  which  the  King 
of  Spain,  the  greatest  monarch  on  earth,  and  his  captain- 
general  Magellan,  entertained  for  the  King  of  Zebu.  He 
also  announced  that  the  fleet  had  come  to  take  in  provisions, 
and  give  merchandise  in  exchange,  and  that  the  captain- 
general  wished  to  pay  his  respects  to  a  prince  he  had  heard 
so  handsomely  spoken  of  by  the  chief  of  Mazagua.  The 
king,  who  acted  through  his  ministers,  gave  the  strangers 
welcome,  but  would  not  dispense  with  the  payment  of  cer- 
tain port-dues,  which,  however,  were  passed  from  when  he 
came  to  know  that  the  "  greatest  monarch  on  earth"  would 
pay  dues  to  no  man  ;  and  that,  though  his  servants  came 
in  peace,  they  were  prepared  for  war.  The  representations 
of  a  Moorish  merchant  then  in  the  port,  who  had  heard  of 
Portuguese  conquest  in  the  East,  swayed  the  chief  of  Zebu  ; 
and  in  a  few  days,  every  requisite  ceremony  being  observed, 
a  treaty  offensive  and  defensive  was  formed.  The  descrip- 
tion of  this  people  is  curious  and  interesting : — In  manners 
and  in  social  condition  they  did  not  appear  to  differ  from 
the  natives  of  Mazagua.  Their  religion,  whatever  it  was, 
sat  lightly  upon  them ;  for  in  a  few  days  Magellan,  whether 
as  politician  or  good  Catholic,  had  converted  and  baptized 
half  their  number.  The  rite  was  administered  on  shore, 
where  a  rude  chapel  was  erected.  Mass  was  performed, 
and  every  ceremony  was  observed  which  could  deepen  the 
impression  of  sanctity.  The  royal  family,  the  Rajah  of 
Mazagua,  and  many  persons  of  rank  were  among  the  first 
converts.  The  king  received  the  name  of  Carlos,  in  honour 
of  the  emperor.  Among  the  sudden  Christians  were  the 
queen  and  forty  ladies  of  the  court.  Baptism  was  also 
administered  to  the  eldest  princess,  the  daughter  of  the 
king  and  wife  of  his  nephew  and  heir-apparent,  a  young 
and  beautiful  woman.  She  usually  wore  a  white  veil  or 
mantilla  which  covered  her  whole  body,  and  on  her  head  a 
tiara  of  date-leaves. 

A  miraculous  cure,  performed  on  the  king's  brother,  who 
on  being  baptized  instantly  recovered  of  a  dangerous  illness, 
completed  Magellan's  triumph.  Pigafetta  gravely  relates, 
44  we  were  all  ocular  witnesses  to  this  miracle."  The 
fashionable  religion  of  the  court  spread  rapidly.  The  idols 


BATTLE   OF    MATAN.  35 

were  broken,  the  cross  set  up,  and  in  less  than  fourteen 
days  from  the  arrival  of  the  squadron  the  whole  inhabitants 
of  Zebu  and  the  neighbouring  islands  were  baptized,  save 
those  of  one  infidel  village,  which  the  captain-general  burnt 
in  punishment  of  their  obstinacy,  erecting  a  cross  amid 
the  ashes  and  the  ruins  he  had  made.  Magellan  now 
regularly  attended  mass  on  shore,  and  the  queen  and 
her  ladies  also  repaired  in  state  to  the  chapel.  She  was 
preceded  by  three  young  girls  bearing  her  three  broad 
umbrella- shaped  hats  formed  of  date-leaves;  she  was  dressed 
in  black  and  white,  and  wore  a  veil  of  silk  striped  with  gold, 
which  covered  her  head  and  shoulders.  Her  ladies  wore 
the  same  sort  of  screen,  but  were  otherwise  naked,  save  a 
girdle  or  short  petticoat  of  palm-cloth.  Their  hair  hung 
loose.  Magellan  sprinkled  these  fair  Christians  with  rose- 
water,  in  which  gallantry  they  appeared  to  delight. 

Among  other  customs,  the  Zebuians  drank  their  wine  by 
sucking  it  up  through  a  reed.  At  an  entertainment  given 
by  the  prince,  the  heir-apparent,  four  singing-girls  were  in- 
troduced. One  beat  a  drum,  another  the  kettle-drum,  a 
third  two  small  kettle-drums,  and  the  fourth  struck  cymbals 
against  each  other.  They  kept  excellent  time,  and  the 
eftect  was  pleasing.  The  kettle-drums  were  of  metal,  and 
in  form  and  effect  somewhat  like  European  bells.  The 
young  girls  played  on  gongs,  and  the  islanders  had  another 
musical  instrument  resembling  the  bagpipe.  Their  houses 
were  raised  on  posts,  and  divided  into  chambers,  the  open 
space  below  serving  as  a  shed  for  the  domestic  animals  and 
poultry.  Provisions  were  plentiful,  and  the  Indians  every- 
where showed  hospitality  to  their  visiters,  constantly  in- 
viting them  to  eat  and  drink.  They  appeared  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  the  table,  at  which  they  often  remained  for 
four  or  five  hours. 

His  majesty  of  Zebu  had  been  somewhat  of  a  self-seeker 
in  his  sudden  conversion.  Reasons  of  state  had  mingled 
with  his  faith,  and  tainted  its  purity.  He  had  been  told,  or 
had  flattered  himself,  that  a  change  to  the  religion  of  the 
Spaniards  would  render  him  invincible  to  his  enemies,  and 
was  now  about  to  prove  his  strength  and  his  friendship  for 
these  new  allies  in  vanquishing  the  chief  of  Matan,  a  neigh- 
bouring island.  This  chief  had  refused  to  pay  a  tribute 
haughtily  demanded  by  Magellan  in  token  of  fealty  and 
submission  to  the  emperor,  replying,  with  commendable 


36  DEATH    OF    MAGELLAN. 

spirit,  that  as  strangers  he  wished  to  show  the  Spaniard* 
courtesy,  and  sent  them  a  present,  but  he  owed  no  obe- 
dience to  those  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  would  pay 
them  none.  This  spirited  reply  greatly  incensed  the  cap- 
tain-general, now  above  measure  elated  with  the  success 
that  had  attended  his  late  labours,  apostolic  and  political. 
He  forthwith  resolved  to  punish  the  insolent  chief  of  Matan, 
and  refused  to  listen  to  the  dissuasions  of  his  officers,  and 
particularly  those  of  Juan  Serrano,  who  remonstrated  with 
him  on  the  impolicy  of  this  design. 

On  the  27th  of  April,  attended  by  forty-nine  Spaniards 
clothed  in  mail,  the  attack  was  begun  on  from  1500  to 
3000,  or  even  6000  Indians, — so  variously  are  they  esti- 
mated. The  King  of  Zebu  attended  his  ally  with  a  force  ; 
but  his  active  services  were  declined,  Magellan  calculating 
upon  an  easy  victory,  and  he  remained  in  his  boats.  The 
battle,  between  crossbows  and  musketry,  and  lances  and 
arrows,  raged  for  many  hours.  The  Indians,  brave  from 
the  onset,  rose  in  courage  towards  evening,  when  they  had 
become  familiarized  with  the  Spanish  fire,  which  did  com- 
paratively little  execution.  They  had  now  learned  to  take 
aim  at  the  faces  and  legs  of  the  Spaniards,  which  were  not 
protected  by  mail,  and  had  succeeded  in  cutting  off  and 
surrounding  a  party  detached  by  Magellan  to  burn  a  vil- 
lage. The  islanders,  who  had  conducted  themselves  all 
day  with  the  greatest  firmness,  now  pressed  closer  and 
harder  upon  the  Spaniards,  who  fell  into  disorder,  and  gave 
way  on  all  sides.  Magellan  was  wounded  in  the  leg  by  a 
poisoned  arrow.  He  was  also  repeatedly  struck  on  the 
head  with  stones  ;  his  helmet  was  twice  dashed  off;  and 
his  sword-arm  being  disabled,  he  could  no  longer  defend 
himself.  His  men  were  hurrying  in  disorder  to  the  boats, 
and  his  new  Christian  ally  still  sat  gazing  on  the  combat, 
which  had  doubtless  produced  a  considerable  change  in  his 
notions  of  Spanish  prowess.  The  fight  continued  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  Six  or  seven  Spaniards  were  all  that 
now  remained  with  their  chief.  They  fought  bravely,  till, 
pressed  and  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  a  multitude,  an  In- 
dian struck  Magellan  on  the  leg.  He  fell  on  his  face,  and 
stones  and  lances  soon  terminated  his  life.  "  Thus,"  say 
the  early  accounts,  "  perished  our  guide,  our  light,  and  our 
support."  Though  the  rash  warfare  waged  by  Magellan 


TREACHERY    OF    THE    ISLANDERS.  37 

on  the  unoffending  chief  of  Matan,  who  only  maintained 
his  own  independence,  cannot  be  defended  on  any  principle 
of  justice,  the  premature  and  violent  death,  in  the  very 
middle  of  his  career,  of  a  navigator  and  discoverer  second 
only  to  Columbus  and  Gama,  will  ever  be  a  cause  of  melan- 
choly regret.  Magellan  was  eminently  endowed  with  the 
qualities  necessary  to  a  man  engaged  in  adventures  like 
those  which  he  undertook.  He  had  the  true  and  rare  talent 
of  command ;  being  no  less  beloved  than  respected  by  the 
crews,  though  Spanish  pride  and  national  jealousy  made 
the  officers  sometimes  murmur  against  his  authority.  He 
was  a  skilful  and  experienced  seaman ;  prompt,  resolute, 
and  inflexible,  often  carrying  perseverance  to  the  point  of  ob- 
stinacy. His  former  voyage  to  India,  when  he  had  reached 
Malacca,  and  the  bold  navigation  he  had  just  made,  entitle 
Magellan  to  be  named  the  first  circumnavigator  of  the  globe. 
Eight  Spaniards  fell  with  their  leader,  and  twenty-two 
were  wounded.  Though  tempting  offers  were  made  to 
the  people  of  Matan  to  give  up  the  body  of  the  captain- 
general,  they  would  not  part  with  so  proud  a  trophy  of 
victory.  The  result  of  the  fatal  battle  of  the  27th  dispelled 
the  illusions  of  the  Christian  king,  and  his  opinion  of  the 
superiority  of  the  Spaniards  fell  more  rapidly  than  it  had 
arisen.  He  wished  to  make  his  peace  with  the  offended 
chief  of  Matan ;  and  with  the  help  of  the  treacherous  slave 
Enrique,  who  on  the  death  of  Magellan  his  master  was  im- 
properly if  not  cruelly  treated,  the  Christian  Carlos  formed 
a  plan  of  seizing  the  ships,  arms,  and  merchandise,  and,  to 
effect  this,  of  murdering  the  crews  in  cold  blood.  The 
officers  were  invited  on  shore  to  receive,  previous  to  their 
departure,  a  rich  present  of  jewels  prepared  before  the 
death  of  Magellan  for  his  most  Catholic  majesty.  These 
were  to  bo  delivered  at  a  solemn  banquet.  Some  of  the 
officers  suspected  treachery,  and  among  others  Juan  Ser- 
rano ;  but  they  landed  to  the  number  of  twenty-eight. 
From  the  king's  brother,  on  whom  the  miracle  had  been 
wrought,  taking  aside  the  almoner,  and  leading  him  into 
his  own  house  while  the  others  proceeded  to  the  banquet, 
Juan  Carvallo,  the  pilot,  and  another  Spaniard,  confirmed 
in  their  original  suspicion,  returned  to  the  ships.  They 
had  scarcely  reached  them,  when  the  shrieks  of  the  victims 
were  heard  from  the  banqueting-house  ;  and  the  natives 
D 


38  BOHOL    AND    BORNEO  I 

were  immediately  seen  dragging  their  dead  bodies  to  the 
water-side.  The  anchors  were  instantly  raised,  and  several 
shots  fired  upon  the  town,  the  ships  meanwhile  crowding 
all  sail  to  leave  this  fatal  harbour.  At  this  time  Captain 
Juan  Serrano,  who  had  landed  with  extreme  reluctance, 
was  seen  dragged  to  the  shore,  wounded,  and  tied  hand 
and  foot.  Earnestly  he  entreated  his  countrymen  to  desist 
from  firing,  and  to  ransom  him  from  this  cruel  and  treache- 
TOUS  people.  They  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  prayers  ;  and 
Serrano,  second  in  command,  as  in  ability  and  courage,  to 
Magellan,  was  thus  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  islanders,  while, 
kneeling  on  the  beach,  he  implored  his  countrymen  not  to 
abandon  him.  Pigafetta  relates,  that  "  finding  all  his  en- 
treaties were  vain,  he  uttered  deep  imprecations,  and 
appealed  to  the  Almighty  at  the  great  day  of  judgment  to 
exact  account  of  his  soul  from  Juan  Carvallo,  his  fellow- 
gossip."  "  His  cries  were,  however,  disregarded,"  con- 
tinues the  narrator,  "  and  we  set  sail  without  ever  hearing 
what  became  of  him."  This  unmanly  and  cruel  abandon- 
ment of  a  friend,  commander,  and  countryman  is  imputed 
to  the  hope  Carvallo  entertained  of  succeeding  to  the  com- 
mand on  the  death  of  Serrano,  the  captains  of  the  other 
ships  being  already  massacred.  It  is  but  justice  to  the 
people  of  Zebu  to  mention,  that  one  narrative  of  the  voyage 
imputes  the  indiscriminate  massacre  of  the  Spaniards  to  a 
quarrel  arising  between  them  and  the  natives,  from  the 
former  insulting  the  women.  Some  years  afterward,  it  was 
incidentally  heard,  that  instead  of  being  all  murdered,  eight 
of  the  Spaniards  were  carried  to  China  and  sold  for  slaves. 
But  the  truth  was  never  clearly  ascertained. 

The  armament  of  Magellan  next  touched  at  the  island 
of  Bohol,  where,  finding  their  numbers  so  much  reduced  by 
sickness  and  the  battle  of  Matan,  they  burned  one  of  the 
ships,  first  removing  the  guns  and  stores  into  the  others, 
now  commanded  by  Carvallo.  At  Zebu  they  had  already 
heard  of  the  Moluccas,  their  ultimate  destination.  They 
touched  at  Chippit  in  Mindanao  on  their  way,  and  after- 
ward at  Cagayan  Sooloo.  At  Puluan  they  first  heard  of 
Borneo.  Having  procured  a  pilot,  they  reached  that  island 
on  the  8th  July,  1521,  and  anchored  next  day  at  three 
leagues  from  the  city,  which  was  computed  to  contain 
twenty-five  thousand  families*  It  was  built  within  high- 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  39 

water  mark,  and  the  houses  were  raised  on  posts.  At  full 
tide  the  inhabitants  communicated  by  boats,  the  women 
thus  selling  their  various  commodities.  The  religion  of 
Borneo  was  the  Mohammedan.  The  island  abounded  in 
wealth,  and  the  people  exhibited  a  high  degree  of  civiliza- 
tion and  refinement.  Letters  were  known,  and  many  of 
the  arts  flourished.  The  king,  though  attended  only  by 
females,  employed  ten  men  as  secretaries  in  state  affairs. 
The  people  had  brass  coin  in  circulation  in  their  commerce, 
and  they  distilled  arrack  from  rice. 

Presents  were  here  exchanged,  and  the  ceremonial  of  in- 
troduction and  the  offer  of  a  treaty  of  commerce  were  made 
and  accepted.  Elephants  were  sent  to  the  water-side  for 
the  Spanish  embassy  ;  and  a  feast  of  veal,  capons,  and 
fowls  of  several  kinds  was  placed  before  them,  served  in 
elegant  porcelain  dishes.  They  were  supplied  with  golden 
spoons  to  eat  their  rice  ;  in  their  sleeping  apartment  wax 
flambeaux  burned  in  silver  candlesticks,  and  men  kept 
watch  all  night  to  supply  with  oil  the  lamps  which  also 
illuminated  the  chamber.  The  king  was  a  stout  man  about 
forty.  When  admitted  to  an  interview,  the  deputation,  on 
the  curtain  of  the  royal  saloon  drawing  up,  found  him  sur- 
rounded by  three  hundred  guards  armed  with  poniards. — 
He  sat  at  a  table  with  a  little  child,  and  was  chewing  betel. 
Close  behind  him  were  ranged  his  female  attendants.  He 
received  the  Spanish  gifts  with  merely  a  slight  movement 
of  the  head,  discovering  no  eager  or  undignified  curiosity, 
and  returned  presents  of  brocade  and  cloth  of  gold  and 
silver.  The  courtiers  were  all  naked,  save  a  piece  of  cloth 
of  gold  round  their  waists.  On  their  fingers  they  wore 
many  rings ;  and  their  poniards  had  handles  of  gold  set 
with  gems.  The  curtain  of  the  royal  saloon,  drawn  up 
when  the  ceremony  began,  at  the  conclusion  dropped,  and 
all  was  over.  Pigafetta  asserts  that  the  king  had  two 
pearls  as  large  as  pullets'  eggs,  and  so  perfectly  round,  that, 
placed  on  a  polished  table,  they  rolled  continually.  The 
natural  productions  of  Borneo  were  rice,  sugar  canes,  gin- 
ger, camphor,  gums,  wax  ;  and  fruits  and  vegetables  in 
great  variety.  The  people  were  peculiarly  skilful  in  the 
manufacture  of  porcelain,  which  formed  a  principal  article 
of  their  merchandise.  Their  pirogues  were  ingeniously 
formed,  and  the  state  ones  carved  on  the  prows  and  gilt. 


40  THE    MOLUCCA    ISLES. 

The  Spaniards,  who  seldom  or  never  left  any  port  they 
visited  on  good  terms  with  the  people,  in  real  or  affected 
alarm  for  an  attack,  seized  several  junks  in  the  harbour,  in 
which  they  knew  there  was  rich  booty,  and  made  some 
persons  of  quality  captives,  in  reprisal  for  three  seamen 
absent  or  detained  in  the  town. 

The  authority  of  Carvallo,  which  had  never  been  re- 
spected, was  now  set  aside  by  the  choice  of  Espinosa  as 
captain-general.  Sebastian  del  Cano,  a  Biscayan,  was 
also  made  a  commander,  and  the  Spaniards  forthwith  com- 
menced what  more  resembled  a  privateering  cruise  than  a 
peaceful  voyage  of  discovery  and  traffic,  pillaging  all  the 
small  vessels  they  met,  of  whatever  nation,  and  holding  the 
passengers  to  ransom,  or  making  them  prisoners,  sometimes 
after  obstinate  engagements.  Going  near  several  islands, 
they  touched  at  one,  and  seized  two  natives,  whom  they 
compelled  to  act  as  their  pilots  to  the  long-sought  Moluccas, 
which  they  at  length  reached,  and  on  the  8th  November 
anchored  at  Tidore.  They  mrt  with  a  hospitable  and  kind 
reception.  The  ships  were  visited  by  Almanzor,  the  king 
of  Tidore ;  a  traffic  in  spices  was  commenced,  and  a  fac- 
tory established  on  shore,  where  trade  soon  became  brisk, 
spices  being  readily  given  in  exchange  for  red  cloth,  drink- 
ing-glasses,  knives,  and  hatchets.  The  king,  Almanzor, 
was  a  Mohammedan,  to  which  faith  the  conquests  of  the 
Moors,  at  a  period  comparatively  recent,  had  converted  as 
many  of  the  native  princes  of  the  East  Indian  islands  as 
they  had  stripped  of  their  power.  The  King  of  Tidore  was 
but  a  late  convert. 

The  Molucca  Islands  were  found  to  be  five  in  number, 
lying  on  the  west  coast  of  a  large  island  called  Gilolo. — 
They  were  named  Tidore,  Terrenate,  Motir,  Bachian,  and 
Maquian.  They  are  seen  from  each'  other,  and  one  was 
distinguished  by  pyramidical  mountains,  presumed  to  be 
volcanic.  They  were  governed  each  by  its  own  prince* — 
The  spices  produced  were  nutmegs,  cloves,  mace,  ginger, 
and  cinnamon,  which  grew  almost  spontaneously.  The 
other  natural  productions  were  much  the  same  as  in  the 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus.  The  houses  were  built  on 
piles  or  posts,  and  fenced  round  with  cane  hedges.  In  the 
island  of  Bachian  a  species  of  bird  of  exquisite  beauty  was 
found,  which  the  natives  called  "  the  bird  of  God,"  saying 


HOMEWARD    VOYAGE.  41 

it  came  from  Paradise.  This  bird  and  the  clove-tree,  of 
which  Pigafetta  gives  a  flowery  description,  are  now  well 
known.  By  the  middle  of  December,  from  the  quantity 
obtained,  and  the  plunder  previously  made  in  these  seas, 
the  spice  cargoes  were  completed  ;  and  the  Spanish  com- 
mander, ready  to  depart,  was  charged  with  letters  and 
presents,  consisting  of  the  rarest  productions  of  the  island, 
sent  to  the  emperor  his  master  by  the  King  of  Tidore,  his 
most  Catholic  majesty's  faithful  ally,  if  not  sworn  vassal. 
When  ready  to  sail,  the  Trinidad  was  found  unfit  for  sea ; 
and  the  Vitoria  proceeded  alone  on  the  homeward  voyage, 
with  a  crew  of  forty-seven  Europeans,  thirteen  Indians, 
and  also  Molucca  pilots.  These  islanders  entertained  the 
seamen  with  many  a  marvellous  oriental  legend.  While 
steering  for  Mindanao,  before  coming  to  the  Moluccas, 
Pigafetta  had  heard  of  a  tribe  of  hairy  men,  very  fierce  and 
warlike,  who  inhabited  a  cape  on  the  island  Benaian, 
wearing  long  daggers,  and  consuming  the  hearts  of  their 
prisoners  raw  with  a  sauce  of  lemon  or  orange  juice  ;  and 
by  the  Molucca  pilots  he  was  told  of  a  people  whose  ears 
were  so  long  that  the  one  served  them  for  a  mattress  and  the 
other  for  a  coverlet.*  He  also  heard  of  a  tree  on  which 
birds  perch,  of  size  and  strength  to  pounce  upon  an  ele- 
phant, and  bear  him  up  into  the  air. 

fhe  Vitoria  touched  at  different  places  in  the  voyage  to 
Spain,  and  after  a  mutiny  and  the  loss  of  twenty- one  men, 
passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the  6th  May,  1522. — 
Being  reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity  for  want  of  provi- 
sions, and  choosing  rather  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Portuguese  than  to  perish  by  famine,  they  anchored  on  the 
9th  July,  a  Wednesday  according  to  their  reckoning,  in  the 
harbour  of  St.  Jago,  where  the  time  proved  Thursday,  and 
the  10th, — a  difference  and  loss  of  a  day  which,  though 
very  easily  accounted  for,  was  extremely  perplexing  to  the 
first  of  the  circumnavigators,  who,  setting  out  from  the  west, 
returned  by  the  east.  A  certain  quantity  of  provisions  was 
obtained  before  the  quarter  from  whence  the  ship  came  was 

*  The  classic  reader  will  be  amused  by  the  coincidence  between  the 
marvellous  legends  of  the  Molucca  pilots  and  ttie  wonders  related  by  a 
story-teller  of  remoter  antiquity  and  higher  authority,  Strabo,  who  re- 
counts this  among  other  legends  brought  from  the  East  by  the  soldiers  of 
\lexander  the  Great. 

D2 


42  THE    VITORIA    AND    TRINIDAD. 

suspected ;  but  the  truth  being  discovered,  the  boat  on  the 
third  trip  was  seized,  and  the  Spaniards  in  the  ship,  not 
unobservant  spectators,  seeing  preparations  making  for  an 
attack,  crowded  sail  and  escaped  from  the  island. 

On  the  6th  September,  1522,  after  a  voyage  of  three 
years'  duration,  in  which  14,160  leagues  of  sea  had  been 
traversed,  Sebastian  del  Cano  brought  the  Vitoria  into  St. 
Lucar,  and  on  the  8th  the  vessel  went  up  the  river  to 
Neville.  Pigafetta,  from  whom  every  historian  of  this  re- 
markable voyage  borrows  so  largely,  concludes  his  narrative 
almost  poetically  : — "  These  were  mariners  who  surely 
merited  an  eternal  memory  more  justly  than  the  Argonauts 
of  old.  The  ship,  too,  undoubtedly  deserved  far  better  to 
be  placed  among  the  stars  than  the  ship  Argo,  which  from 
Greece  discovered  the  great  sea ;  for  this  our  wonderful 
ship,  taking  her  departure  from  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  and 
nailing  southward  through  the  great  ocean  towards  the 
Antarctic  Pole,  and  then  turning  west,  not  by  sailing  back, 
but  proceeding  constantly  forward ;  so  compassing  the 
globe,  until  she  marvellously  regained  her  native  country, 
Spain."  The  crew  on  reaching  Seville  walked  barefooted 
in  procession  to  two  churches  to  return  thanks  for  their  safe 
return,  eighteen  being  now  all  the  Europeans  that  survived 
of  the  crew  of  the  Vitoria.  The  ship  itself  became  the 
theme  of  poets  and  romancers,  and  was  carefully  pre- 
served. The  commander,  Sabastian  del  Cano,  escaped 
the  neglect  which  was  the  common  fate  of  all  Spanish  dis- 
coverers. He  was  liberally  rewarded,  and  obtained  letters- 
patent  of  nobility. 

The  Trinidad  was  less  fortunate  than  its  consort.  After 
being  refitted,  she  attempted  to  recross  the  Pacific,  but  was 
nearly  wrecked  ;  and  being  driven  back,  the  crew  were  made 
prisoners  by  the  Portuguese,  whose  jealousy  of  Spanish 
enterprise  in  these  parts  was  now  violently  inflamed  by  the 
late  transactions  at  the  Moluccas. 

The  voyage  of  Magellan  was  attended  by  many  import- 
ant results  ;  it  demonstrated  the  existence  of  a  communi- 
tion  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  and  as- 
certained the  southern  boundary  of  the  American  continent. 
In  its  progress  Magellan  discovered  the  Unfortunate  Islands, 
several  islands  of  the  group  of  the  Ladrones,  and  the  Ar- 
chipelago of  St.  Lazarus  ;  he  also  demonstrated  the  form 


EXPEDITION    OF    LOYASA.  43 

of  the  earth,  and  accomplished  what  had  baffled,  even  on 
the  threshold,  every  navigator  who  had  made  the  same 
attempt. 

All  the  sea  and  land  discovered  by  Magellan  were  claimed 
by  Spain  as  its  sole  possession, — an  assumption  of  right 
which  the  other  European  states,  and  especially  Portugal, 
were  unwilling  to  acknowledge.  The  passage  to  the  Mo- 
luccas and  those  islands  themselves,  the  principal  advan- 
tage gained  by  the  discoveries  of  Magellan,  were  claimed 
by  the  double  title  of  the  pope's  grant  and  the  alleged  ces- 
sion of  the  native  princes  to  the  King  of  Castile.  John 
III.,  king  of  Portugal,  was  equally  tenacious  of  his  rights. 
The  old  dispute  of  the  boundary  and  partition-line  was  re- 
newed, and  referred  to  a  convocation  of  learned  cosmogra- 
phers  and  skilful  pilots,  who  met  at  Badajos,  and  parted 
as  they  met ;  the  commissioners  of  both  parties  being  alike 
tenacious  of  the  claims  of  their  royal  constituents.  The  re- 
spective governments  were  thus  left  to  establish  their  right 
of  possession  as  they  found  most  convenient ;  and  Spain 
lost  no  time  in  fitting  out  another  expedition  to  establish 
her  claims,  and  secure  to  the  utmost  the  advantages  of 
Magellan's  discovery. 

This  armament  consisted  of  four  ships,  of  which  Garcia 
Jofre  de  Loyasa,  a  knight  of  Malta,  was  appointed  captain- 
general  ;  Sebastian  del  Cano,  and  others  of  the  survivors 
of  Magellan's  voyage,  going  out  under  his  command.  The 
squadron  sailed  from  Corunna  on  the  24th  July,  1525,  and 
was  expected  to  reach  the  Spice  Islands  by  Magellan's 
Straits  in  no  long  time.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to 
ensure  the  celerity  and  success  of  the  voyage,  and  the  ex- 
pedition at  first  proceeded  prosperously. 

To  the  still  imperfect  state  of  nautical  science  we  must 
impute  many  of  the  subsequent  disasters  of  Loyasa.  The 
strait  so  lately  discovered  was  already  the  subject  of  un- 
certainty and  dispute ;  Sebastian  del  Cano's  vessel  was 
wrecked  near  Cape  de  las  Virgines  ;  the  captain-general 
was  separated*  from  the  fleet ;  the  other  ships  were  injured  ; 

*  The  Spaniards  claim  a  notable  discovery  from  this  separation  of  the 
fleet.  The  St.  Lesmes,  a  barque  commanded  by  Francisco  de  Hozes,  is 
reported  to  have  been  driven  to  55°  south  in  the  gale,  and  the  captain 
affirmed  that  he  had  seen  the  end  of  the  land  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  This 
some  Spanish  historians  of  Magellan's  expedition  suppose  Cape  Horn  ; 


44  NEW    GUINEA. 

through  the  strait,  which  it  was  April  before  they  entered, 
the  passage  proved  tedious  and  dismal,  and  several  of  the 
seamen  died  of  the  extreme  cold.  The  stupendous  scenery 
described  on  this  passage  presents  many  of  those  gigantic 
features  which  nature  assumes  in  the  New  World.  On  the 
26th  May  the  fleet  entered  the  South  Sea,  but  was  almost 
immediately  dispersed  in  a  storm.  One  of  the  vessels 
steered  for  New  Spain,  the  others  held  north-west.  Both 
commanders  were  now  sick  ;  and  four  days  after  crossing 
the  line,  on  the  3d  of  August,  1526,  Loyasa  died,  and  Del 
Cano,  who  had  braved  and  weathered  so  many  dangers,  ex- 
pired in  a  few  days  afterward.  Alonzo  de  Salazar,  who 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  fleet,  steered  for  the  La- 
drones,  and,  in  14°  north,  discovered  St.  Bartholomew. 
Between  Magellan's  Strait  and  the  Ladrones  thirty-eight 
of  the  seamen  died,  and  the  whole  crew  were  so  enfeebled 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  entrap  eleven  Indians  to  work 
the  pumps.  Salazar,  the  third  commander  died  ;  and  it 
was  November  before  they  came  to  anchor  at  Zamafo,  a 
port  in  an  island  belonging  to  their  ally,  the  King  of 
Tidore.  Disputes  immediately  arose  between  the  Spaniards 
and  the  Portuguese  governor  settled  at  Terrenate,  and  a 
petty  maritime  warfare  ensued,  which  was  prosecuted  for 
many  years  with  various  degrees  of  activity  and  success, — 
the  people  of  Tidore  supporting  the  Spaniards,  and  those 
of  Terrenate  the  Portuguese  settlers.  In  the  course  of 
this  year,  1526,  Papua,  long  since  called  NEW  GUINEA,  was 
discovered  by  Don  Jorge  de  Meneses,  in  his  passage  from 
Malacca  to  the  Moluccas,  of  which  he  had  been  appointed 
governor  by  the  court  of  Portugal.  About  the  same  time 
a  Portuguese  captain,  Diego  da  Rocha,  discovered  Se- 
queira,  believed  the  modern  Pelew  Islands.  In  the  course  of 
the  summer  of  1527,  the  fourth  commander  of  Loyasa's 
squadron  died,  or,  it  is  alleged,  was  taken  oiT  by  poison  at 
the  instigation  of  the  Portuguese  governor ;  and  the  prin- 
cipal ship  was  so  much  damaged  in  repeated  actions,  that  it 
was  found  unfit  for  the  homeward  voyage. 

while  the  geographers  of  other  nations  name  it  Staten  Land,  the  certain 
discovery  of  which  is,  however,  of  much  later  date.  The  extent  of  pro- 
jecting land  between  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  strait-and  Cape  Horn 
makes  it  improbable  that  it  could  have  been  seen  by  the  crew  of  the  St, 
Leemes. 


VOYAGE    OF    SAAVEDRA.  45 

In  the  same  season  the  celebrated'  Hernan  Cortes 
equipped  three  ships  for  the  Spice  Isles,  which  sailed  from 
New  Spain  on  All  Saints'  Day,  under  the  command  of  his 
kinsman  Alvaro  de  Saavedra.  Two  of  the  vessels  were  almost 
immediately  separated  from  the  admiral,  who,  pursuing  his 
course  alone,  after  leaving  the  Ladrones,  discovered  on 
Twelfth  Day  a  cluster  of  islands,  to  which,  from  this  cir- 
cumstance, he  gave  the  name  of  the  Islands  de  los  Reyes. 
The  men  here  were  naked,  save  a  piece  of  matting  about 
their  middle, — tall,  robust,  and  swarthy,  with  long  hair  and 
rough  beards.  They  wore  broad  hats  as  a  shelter  from  the 
sun,  had  large  canoes,  and  were  armed  with  lances  of  cane. 
When  Saavedra  reached  the  Moluccas,  which  was  in  little 
more  than  a  two  months'  voyage,  his  direct  approach  from 
New  Spain  would  scarcely  be  credited.  He  was  imme- 
diately attacked  by  the  Portuguese,  but  was  supported  by 
his  countrymen,  the  residue  of  Loyasa's  fleet,  who  had  now 
built  a  brigantine.  After  completing  his  cargo,  he  sailed  for 
New  Spain  on  the  3d  June,  an  eastward  voyage,  that  for  a 
series  of  years  baffled  every  successive  navigator.  Land 
was  reached,  which  the  Spaniards  named  Isla  del  Oro,  from 
believing  that  gold  abounded.  There  is,  however,  reason 
to  conclude  that  this  was  Papua,  afterward  called  New 
Guinea,  from  the  resemblance  between  the  natives  and  the 
negroes  on  the  Guinea  Coast  They  were  black,  with  short 
crisped  hair  or  wool ;  and  had  the  features  of  that  distinc- 
tive race  of  Polynesia,  since  termed  Oceanic  negroes,  who 
are  found  in  many  of  the  islands  scattered  throughout  the 
vast  Pacific,  sometimes  mixed  with  the  other  great  family 
by  which  these  islands  are  peopled,  but  generally  apart. 
Saavedra  was  driven  back  to  the  Moluccas  ;  nor  was  his 
second  attempt  to  reach  New  Spain  in  the  following  year 
more  fortunate.  In  that  voyage  he  once  more  touched  at 
Papua.  When  formerly  here  he  had  made  three  captives. 
On  again  seeing  the  beloved  shores  of  their  native  land, 
two  of  these  poor  Indians  plunged  into  the  sea  while  the 
ship  was  yet  distant ;  but  the  third,  who  was  said  to  be 
more  tractable,  and  had  by  this  time  been  baptized,  re- 
mained to  act  as  ambassador  between  his  new  friends  and 
his  countrymen,  and  to  establish  an  amicable  traffic.  When 
the  vessel  neared  the  beach,  he  also  leaped  into  the  water ; 
but,  without  being  allowed  to  land,  was  at  once  assailed  by 


46  DISCOVERY   OF    CALIFORNIA. 

his  former  friends,  and  murdered,  as  an  outcast  and  repro- 
bate, in  presence  of  his  Christian  patrons.  A  group  of 
small  islands  in  7°  north,  seen  afterward,  were,  from  the 
natives  being  tattooed  or  painted,  named  Los  Pintados. 
The  people  were  fierce  and  warlike,  and  from  a  canoe  boldly 
attacked  the  ships  with  showers  of  stones  thrown  from 
slings.  To  the  north-east  of  Los  Pintados  several  low 
inhabited  islands  were  discovered,  and  named  Los  Buenos 
Jardines.  Saavedra  came  to  anchor  here,  and  the  natives 
drew  to  the  shore,  waving  a  flag.  A  band  of  men,  and  a 
female,  supposed  to  have  been  a  sorceress,  came  on  board, 
to  enable,  it  was  imagined,  the  latter  to  use  her  skill  and 
spells  in  making  discoveries.  The  natives  were  light-com- 
plexioned  and  tattooed.  The  females  were  beautiful,  with 
agreeable  features  and  long  black  hair  :  they  wore  dresses 
of  fine  matting.  Saavedra,  on  landing,  was  met  by  men 
and  women  in  procession,  with  tambarines  and  festal 
songs.  These  islands  afforded  abundance  of  cocoanuts  and 
other  vegetable  productions. 

The  commander  died  soon  after  leaving  the  Good  Gar- 
dens Islands ;  and  after  vainly  attempting  to  reach  New 
Spain,  the  ship  once  more  returned  to  the  Moluccas.  To 
Saavedra  is  ascribed  the  bold  project  of  cutting  a  canal 
from  sea  to  sea  through  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.* 

In  the  same  year,  1529,  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  who 
left  his  subjects  in  the  Moluccas  to  defend  themselves  as 
they  could,  mortgaged,  or  ceded  to  Portugal  his  right  to 
those  islands  for  350,000  ducats.  Though  several  voyages 
were  attempted  as  private  enterprises,  they  all  proved  abor- 
tive, and  the  passage  by  Magellan's  Straits,  from  its  storms 
and  terrors,  was  abandoned.  The  discoveries  opening  in 
other  quarters  likewise  contributed  to  divert  attention  from 
this  point  of  enterprise. 

The  peninsula  of  California  was  about  this  time  discov- 

*  This  project,  which  has  been  fifty  times  revived,  very  early  engaged 
the  attention  of  Spain.  It  is  discussed  in  Jos.  Acosta's  Moral  and  Phy- 
sical History  of  the  Indies, — who  urges  against  the  design  an  opinion 
which  is  not  even  yet  either  established  or  abandoned,  namely,  that  one 
sea  being  higher  than  the  other,  the  undertaking  must  be  attended  by 
some  awful  calamity  to  the  globe.  Very  rerent  observations,  however, 
made  under  the  patronage  of  Bolivar,  seem  to  prove  that  either  a  canal 
or  a  railway  is  quite  practicable.  See  Royal  Society  Transactions  for 


EXPEDITION    OF    VILLALOBOS.  47 

ered  by  Cortes.  Its  gulf  and  outer  shores  had  been  exam* 
ined  ;  new  settlements  were  also  every  year  rising  in  Mex- 
ico and  Peru,  which  engrossed  the  cares  of  the  Spanish 
governor  ;  and  it  was  not  till  the  year  1542  that,  forgetting 
the  cession  or  mortgage  to  Portugal,  a  squadron  was  once 
more  fitted  out,  destined  for  the  Archipelago  of  St.  Laza- 
rus. This  was  the  work  of  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  the 
command  was  intrusted  to  his  brother-in-law,  Ruy  Lopez 
de  Villalobos.  He  discovered  the  island  of  St.  Thomas,  in 
latitude  18°  30'  north,  and  a  cluster  of  low  islands,  which 
were  named  El  Coral.  On  the  6th  January,  1543,  at  35 
leagues  from  the  Coral  Isles,  the  fleet  passed  ten  islands, 
which,  from  their  fertile  appearance,  they  called  The  Gar- 
dens (Los  Jardines).  The  squadron  coasted  along  Min- 
danao, making  some  miscalculation  in  their  course  ;  and  on 
reaching  Sarrangan,  an  island  near  the  south  part  of  Min- 
danao, determined  there  to  fix  that  settlement  which  was 
the  chief  purpose  of  their  expedition.  This  the  natives, 
though  at  first  hospitable  and  friendly,  stoutly  opposed ;  but 
the  captain-general,  having  already  taken  formal  possession 
of  all  the  islands  for  the  emperor,  determined  to  make  good 
his  point,  and  the  Indians  were  subdued,  and  retreated  to 
other  islands.  Here  the  Spaniards  raised  their  first  harvest 
of  Indian  corn  in  the  Philippines, — the  name  now  given  by 
Villalobos  to  all  these  islands,  in  compliment  to  the  Prince- 
royal  of  Spain.  The  inhabitants  of  several  of  the  islands 
in  a  short  time  became  more  friendly ;  traffic  was  estab- 
lished ;  and  Spanish  success  once  more  excited  the  jealous 
apprehensions  of  the  Portuguese,  and  begot  numerous  petty 
intrigues  among  the  native  chiefs  who  favoured  the  differ- 
ent European  leaders.  In  the  progress  of  events,  the  con- 
duct of  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villalobos  was  marked  by  perfidy  to 
the  Indian  allies  he  had  gained,  and  treachery  to  Spain. 
In  despite  of  the  remonstrances  and  honourable  counsels  of 
his  officers,  he  accepted  unworthy  terms  of  personal  safety 
from  the  Portuguese,  one  condition  being  a  passage  home. 
On  his  return  to  Europe  by  the  east,  in  a  Portuguese  ship, 
he  died  at  Amboyna,  of  sickness  and  chagrin, — thus  eluding 
the  justice  of  Spain,  which  he  had  betrayed. 

The  certainty  of  conquering  the  Philippines  had  been 
demonstrated  even  by  the  treachery  of  Villalobos  ;  and,  as 
another  preparatory  step,  search  was  made  on  the  exterior 


48  EXPEDITION    OF   LEGASPI. 

coast  of  California  for  a  harbour,  as  an  intermediate  port  or 
place  of  shelter  to  ships  passing  between  those  islands  and 
New  Spain,  the  Straits  of  Magellan  being  still  abandoned 
in  despair.  The  features  of  the  various  expeditions  under- 
taken for  many  subsequent  years,  while  the  course  lay 
through  those  fatal  straits,  may  be  described  in  few  words. 
Some  missed  the  entrance,  but  most  were  wrecked  on  the 
coast. 

The  commencement  of  a  new  reign  is  a  period  prover- 
Jpial  for  energy  and  activity,  whether  the  implement  wielded 
|Ry  the  ruler  be  a  broom,  a  baton,  or  a  sceptre.  Among  the 
first  acts  of  Philip  II.  was  an  order  issued  to  the  Viceroy  of 
Mexico  for  the  final  conquest  of  the  Philippines.  This 
new  expedition  was  rather  fertile  in  discovery.  It  was  con- 
ducted by  Miguel  Lopez  de  Legaspi,  and  under  him  by  a 
man  of  much  greater  talent,  the  Fray  Andres  de  Urdaneta, 
a  celebrated  cosmographer  and  navigator,  who,  after  sail- 
ing with  Loyasa,  had  become  a  monk.  To  Urdaneta  the 
honour  was  given  of  nominating  the  captain-general,  his 
profession  forbidding  him  to  hold  any  secular  rank,  though 
no  one  was  so  well  qualified  to  act  as  a  "  holy  guide,  to  un- 
furl and  wave  the  bnnner  of  Christ  in  the  remotest  of  these 
islands,  and  to  drive  the  Devil  from  the  tyrannical  posses- 
sion he  had  held  for  so  many  ages."  The  expedition  sailed 
on  the  21st  November,  1564.  On  the  9th  January,  1565, 
they  discovered  a  small  island,  which  they  named  De  Los 
Barbudos,  and  next  morning  a  chain  of  islands,  which  were 
called  De  los  Plazeres,  from  the  shoals.  On  the  12th  an- 
other chain  was  discovered,  and  named  Las  Hermanas  or 
The  Sisters.  These  islands  are  supposed  to  be  the  Pisca- 
dores  and  Arrescifes  of  modern  charts.  The  squadron 
touched  at  the  Ladrones,  where,  on  the  island  Guahan,  the 
Padre  Urdaneta  would  have  formed  the  desired  settlement ; 
but  the  sealed  orders  of  the  king,  opened  at  sea,  decreed 
that  it  should  be  established  in  the  Philippines.  The  In- 
dians here,  a  blithe  and  good-tempered  race,  still,  however, 
retained  the  propensity  to  thieving  which  had  obtained  for 
these  islands  their  European  designation.  Their  dwellings 
were  neatly  formed  and  lofty,  raised  on  stone  pillars,  and 
divided  into  chambers.  They  had  boat-houses  or  dry 
docks  for  their  canoes.  In  Loyasa's  voyage,  we  hear  that 
the  only  creatures  seen  among  them  were  turtle-doves, 


FIRST    SPANISH   SETTLEMENTS.  49 

\vhich  they  kept  in  cages,  and  taught  to  speak.  They  wor- 
shipped the  bones  of  their  ancestors.  Without  seeing  other 
land  the  fleet  made  the  Philippines  ;  and,  on  the  3d  Febru- 
ary, 1565,  anchored  near  the  east  part  of  the  island  Tan- 
daya.  The  natives  wore  the  semblance  of  friendship  ;  and 
the  captain-general  made  a  covenant  of  alliance  with  the 
chiefs,  according  to  the  customs  of  their  country,  the  par- 
ties to  the  treaty  drawing  blood  from  their  arms  and  breasts, 
and  mingling  it  with  wine  or  water,  in  which  they  pledged 
mutual  fidelity.  The  Indians,  however,  were  not  the  dupes 
of  European  policy.  With  much  shrewdness,  they  remarked 
that  the  Spaniards  gave  "  good  words  but  bad  deeds."  The 
fleet  sailed  from  place  to  place,  but  small  progress  was  made 
in  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  people,  who  were  now 
fully  alive  to  the  intentions  of  their  visiters.  One  station 
after  another  was  abandoned,  and  Zebu  was  at  last  selected 
as  the  point  of  settlement.  There  the  Spaniards  carried 
matters  in  a  higher  tone  than  they  had  hitherto  assumed. 
The  tardiness  of  the  people  to  acknowledge  the  offered 
civilities  of  the  voyagers  was  used  as  a  pretext  for  aggres- 
sion, and  the  foundation  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  Span- 
iards in  the  Philippines  was  laid  in  the  reeking  ashes  of  the 
sacked  capital  of  Zebu. 

Hostilities  continued  to  be  waged  for  a  time  between  the 
islanders  and  the  invaders  ;  but  mutual  interest  dictated 
peace,  and  the  late  unprovoked  atrocities  of  the  Europeans 
were  at  last  viewed  as  a  just  though  severe  retribution  for 
the  treacherous  murder  of  Magellan's  crew  by  their  ances- 
tors forty  years  before.  The  news  of  the  settlement  was 
carried  back  to  America  by  the  Fray  Andres  Urdaneta,  the 
pilot-monk,  who  sailed  on  the  1st  June,  and  on  the  3d  of 
October  reached  Acapulco— a  navigation  highly  extolled  at 
the  time,  as  the  passage  across  the  Pacific  from  west  to 
east,  so  necessary  to  facilitate  the  communication  between 
the  Philippines  and  the  mother  country,  had  hitherto  baffled 
every  navigator.  By  following  a  fcourse  to  the  40th  degree 
of  north  latitude  fair  winds  were  obtained ;  and  the  home- 
ward voyage  long  continued  to  be  made  to  New  Spain  by 
the  same  track,  which  obtained  the  name  of  Urdancta's 
Passage.  The  name  of  the  friar  became  celebrated  among 
all  the  European  navigators  ;  and  to  him  we  find  English 
seamen  attributing  the  fabled  discovery  of  the  North-west 
E 


50  ROBINSON  CRUSOE'S  ISLAND. 

Passage,  long  before  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  attempted  an 
enterprise  which  Britons  still  appear  so  reluctant  to  aban- 
don as  hopeless. 

Legaspi's  expedition  laid  the  foundation  of  Spanish  power 
securely  in  the  Philippines.  The  settlement  of  Manilla 
soon  followed  that  of  Zebu  ;  the  former  place  being  then, 
what  it  still  remains,  the  capital  of  all  the  islands  going 
under  the  general  name  given  them  by  Villalobos. 

Other  discoveries  in  the  South  Sea,  memorable,  if  not 
important,  preceded  the  voyage  of  Drake.  Maritime  sci- 
ence was  now  advancing  surely,  though  slowly  ;  and  indi- 
vidual sagacity,  boldness,  and  experience  were  occasionally 
anticipating  its  progress.  Juan  Fernandez,  a  Spanish 
pilot,  who  often  made  the  passage  from  Peru  to  the  new 
settlements  in  Chili,  in  the  hopes  of  finding  favourable 
winds  for  the  south,  to  which  contemporary  navigators 
made  tedious  and  difficult  voyages,  creeping  timidly  along 
the  coast,  had  stood  out  to  sea ;  and  in  the  progress  of  his 
voyage  discovered  the  island  which  bears  his  name — a 
name  dear  and  familiar  to  readers  over  the  whole  globe  a» 
Robinson  Crusoe's  Island.  This  discovery  of  a  land  offer- 
ing what  the  seaman  most  requires, — wood,  water,  anchor- 
age, and  vegetables, — was  made  in  the  year  1563,  in  33° 
45'  south  latitude,  and  distant  from  the  coast  of  America 
115  geographical  leagues.  Cocos  Island,  so  named  from  its 
most  plentiful  production,  and  the  Galapagos,  or  Turtle 
Islands,  afterward  celebrated  as  the  haunts  of  the  English 
Buccaneers,  had  now  been  discovered,  and  also  the  group 
named  the  Solomon  Islands. 

The  narrative  of  the  navigation  of  Mendana,  undertaken 
for  the  purpose  of  discovery  in  the  South  Sea,  and  in  which 
he  saw  the  land  named  the  Solomon  Islands,  forms  an  in- 
teresting chapter  in  the  early  Spanish  voyages.  Alvaro  de 
Mendana  left  Callao,  the  port  of  Lima,  on  the  10th  Janu- 
ary, 1567,  and,  sailing  1450  leagues,  discovered  in  6°  45' 
south,  the  Isle  of  Jesus,  and  after  other  trifling  discoveries 
the  island  of  Saint  Isabella  of  the  Star,  and  successively 
the  group  to  which  the  name  of  Solomon  Isles  was  affixed, 
that  it  might  attract  attention  by  indicating  great  wealth  in 
gold  and  other  precious  commodities.  In  that  age  these 
islands  were  by  the  ignorant  believed  those  from  which 
Solomon  had  obtained  gold  and  sandal- wood,  and  the  rare 


THE    SOLOMON   ISLES.  51 

materials  employed  in  erecting  the  Temple.  The  islanders 
were  found  of  various  characters ;  though  it  may  be,  the 
difference  consisted  more  in  the  mood  of  the  moment  than 
in  original  or  permanent  causes.  At  Saint  Isabella  they 
were  mulattoes,  with  crisp  hair.  Their  food  was  roots  and 
cocoanuts.  The  Spaniards  supposed  them  to  be  cannibals, 
though  some  distinction  ought  perhaps  to  be  drawn  between 
habitual  men-eaters  and  those  tribes  who,  merely  in  the 
gratification  of  brutal  vengeance,  devour  their  enemies. 
They  were  nearly  naked,  and  worshipped  reptiles  and 
toads.  Some  of  the  islands  produced  in  abundance  yams 
and  bread-fruit ;  in  one  a  volcano  was  seen,  then  smoking. 
A  brigantine  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  further  discovery 
in  this  interesting  archipelago,  round  which  the  pilots 
cruised,  threading  many  channels.  During  the  ceremony 
of  erecting  a  cross  on  one  of  the  islands,  and  taking  pos- 
session, the  Spaniards  were  attacked.  If  they  sometimes 
showed  humanity,  in  no  case  did  they  study  forbearance. 
Two  natives  were  shot,  and  the  rest  fled.  In  a  river  which 
the  Spaniards  explored  to  some  distance  gold  was  found. 
Other  islands  and  a  populous  coast  was  seen,  with  which 
the  Spaniards  for  some  time  maintained  a  friendly  inter- 
course. But  aggressions  on  the  gentiles  by  their  Christian 
visiters  was  not  then  considered  a  more  forbidden  pastime 
than  the  cruel  violence  practised  on  the  natives  of  Africa 
in  later  days.  The  seizure  of  a  boy  by  the  captain-gene- 
ral gave  just  offence  to  a  chief,  who  had  till  then  been  hos- 
pitable and  friendly  ;  and  the  refusal  to  give  up  his  subject 
was  revenged,  in  their  fashion,  by  the  murder  of  ten  Span- 
iards, belonging  to  a  watering-party  which  the  Indians  had 
surprised.  This  was  the  signal  for  wide-spreading  ven- 
geance. Houses  were  burned,  and  many  of  the  natives 
killed ;  nor  did  the  outrages  of  the  Spaniards  terminate 
here.  Landing  on  an  island  they  had  named  San  Christo- 
val,  they  were  boldly  opposed  by  the  natives,  of  whom  two 
were  shot,  and  the  rest  fled,  leaving  their  houses  to  be 
plundered  by  the  invaders. 

Mendana  returned  to  Lima.  The  romantic  accounts  of 
the  wealth  and  fertility  of  this  new  Ophir  gave  rise  to  a 
project  of  settlement,  but  it  died  away ;  and,  on  the  rapid 
extension  of  the  continental  settlements,  his  discovery 
nearly  faded  from  recollection,  or  survived  merely  in  the 


52  SOUTHERN    CONTINENT. 

imperfect  charts  and  journals  of  the  navigators.  Thirty  years 
afterward,  when  Mendana  undertook  another  voyage,  he 
could  not  fall  in  with  his  former  discovery,  and  the  Solo- 
mon Islands  remained  unvisited  till  refound  by  M.  Surville 
in  1769,  two  centuries  after  the  visit  of  Mendana.  They 
have  since  been  visited,  at  different  times,  both  by  English 
and  French  navigators. 

Such  was  nearly  the  amount  of  discovery  in  that  great 
sea,  itself  but  lately  known,  previous  to  the  voyage  of  Drake, 
— a  claim  set  up  for  Juan  Fernandez  of  having  seen  the 
coast  of  New  Zealand  being  still  a  subject  of  doubt  and 
dispute. 

A  continent  to  the  south  was  a  favourite  and  natural  idea 
among  the  navigators  of  that  age  ;  and  Fernandez,  already 
a  discoverer  of  some  note,  and  a  skilful  pilot  and  bold  sea- 
man, reported  that  in  one  of  his  periodical  voyages  between 
Chili  and  Peru,  sailing  about  40  degrees  off  the  coast  of 
Chili,  and  lying  upon  courses  between  west  and  south,  he 
found  a  fair  and  fertile  portion  of  an  unknown  continent, 
inhabited  by  white  people,  who  were  dressed  in  woven  cloth, 
and  were  in  their  manners  kind  and  hospitable.  The  skep- 
tical may  question  the  relation  altogether ;  the  charitable 
will  conclude  that  New  Zealand  was  seen,  or  some  large 
island  still  unknown  to  modern  voyagers,  many  of  which 
the  Pacific  is  sufficiently  capacious  to  contain.  Another 
important  discovery  is  claimed  by  the  Spaniards,  but  not 
supported  by  evidence.  In  1576,  the  year  preceding  Drake's 
voyage,  a  navigator  named  Gali  is  said  to  have  discovered 
an  island  which  he  named  Table  Mountain  from  its  exter- 
nal appearance,  and  which,  it  is  stated,  was  the  Owhyee 
of  the  Sandwich  group.  If  the  discovery  was  ever  made,  it 
was  completely  forgotten ;  which  is  not  likely  when  the  im- 
portance of  such  a  midway  station  for  the  Spanish  fleet  and 
ships  passing  between  Mexico  and  the  Philippines  is  con- 
sidered. 

Some  abortive  voyages  to  Magellanica  are  omitted  here, 
the  chapter  having  already  extended  to  considerable  length ; 
and  now,  taking  leave  of  the  early  Spanish  discoverers,  we 
turn  to  the  career  of  that  illustrious  navigator  who  first 
launched  an  English  ship  into  the  South  Sea,  and  carried 
the  fame  of  the  nation  which  his  discoveries  enriched  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  globe. 


(53) 
DRAKE. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Life  of  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

Drake's  Birth  and  Parentage— He  goes  to  Sea— Purser  of  a  Biscay 
Trader — Voyage  to  the  Guinea  Coast — Sir  John  Hawkins— Slave 
Trade — Affair  at  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa — Drake  returns  to  England — Ex- 
perimental Voyages  —Expedition  to  Nombre  de  Dios — Journey  across 
the  Isthmus— Rich  Booty— Returns  Home— Fits  out  Frigates— Irish 
Rebellion— Patronage  of  Essex;  of  Sir  Christopher  Hatton— Intro- 
duced at  Court. 

FRANCIS  DRAKE,  in  common  with  many  of  the  great  men 
whose  names  impart  lustre  to  the  annals  of  England,  may 
be  termed  the  son  of  his  own  brave  deeds.  His  family  and 
the  rank  of  his  father  have,  however,  been  made  the  subject 
of  much  unprofitable  discussion.  In  the  heroic  ages  the 
birth  of  so  illustrious  a  man,  if  at  all  obscure,  would  at  once 
have  been  derived  from  the  gods, — an  origin  of  extreme  con- 
venience to  such  biographers  as,  influenced  by  the  prejudices 
of  descent,  disdain  to  relate  the  history  of  a  poor  man's  son. 
Modern  skepticism  and  coldness  of  imagination  making  this 
no  longer  possible,  a  struggle  is  nevertheless  made  for  dis- 
tinguished origin  of  some  kind.  The  godfather  of  Drake 
was  Sir  Francis  Russel  of  Tavistock,  afterward  Earl  of  Bed- 
ford ;  and  though  various  authorities  are  given  for  his  father 
having  been  in  orders,  there  remains  no  doubt  that  he  was 
an  honest  mariner  belonging  to  the  same  place.  An  attempt 
has  been  made  to  reconcile  the  contradictory  accounts  of 
Camden  and  Stowe  by  assuming  that  the  father  of  Drake, 
originally  a  seaman,  was  converted  to  the  reformed  faith  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  fell  under  the  cognizance  of  some 
of  his  capricious  and  arbitrary  edicts,  and,  fleeing  into  Kent, 
obtained  orders,  first  read  prayers  to  the  fleet,  and  afterward 
was  appointed  vicar  of  Upnore  on  the  Medway,  in  which 
E2 


54  DRAKE'S  ANCESTRY. 

river  the  royal  fleet  then  usually  rode.  Though  Johnson, 
following  Camden,  without  hesitation  assumes  the  fact  of 
the  elder  Drake  being  a  clergyman,  it  is  superfluous  to  cite 
the  dates  and  accurate  authority  which  disprove  what  both 
the  annalist  and  the  sage  had  a  strong  inclination  to  be- 
lieve. Stowe  and  the  Biographia  Britannica  restore  to  the 
"  honest  mariner  of  Tavistock"  the  son  of  whom  he  had  been 
innocently  deprived  by  the  real  or  imaginary  vicar  of  Up- 
nore ;  and  Burney,  in  later  times,  though  searching  and 
accurate,  does  not  even  advert  to  a  claim  of  birth  which 
could  add  nothing  to  the  renown  of  Francis  Drake.  The 
credit  of  having  had  Sir  Francis  Russel  for  his  godfather  is 
also  disputed ;  and  with  this  too  Drake  could  dispense, 
especially  as  he  is  allowed  to  have  gained  nothing  by  this 
distinction  save  the  Christian  name  which  he  bore. 

But  whatever  were  his  ancestry,  it  is  clearly  ascertained 
that  Francis  was  the  eldest  of  twelve  sons,  who,  with  few 
exceptions,  went  to  sea.  It  is  said  that  he  was  brought  up 
and  educated  by  Sir  John  Hawkins,  who  was  his  kinsman. 
The  degree  or  existence  of  the  relationship  is  not  clearly 
made  out,  and  it  is  certain  that  young  Drake  was  not  long 
a  charge  upon  any  patron ;  for  at  a  very  tender  age  his 
father,  having  a  large  family,  put  him  apprentice  to  a  neigh- 
bour who  traded  to  Zealand  and  France.  Here  he  speedily 
acquired  that  practical  knowledge  of  his  profession  which 
made  him  early  in  life  as  experienced  and  expert  a  seaman 
as  he  afterward  became  an  able  commander.  His  fidelity 
and  diligence  in  this  service  gained  the  good- will  and  regard 
of  his  master,  who,  dying  a  bachelor,  bequeathed  his  vessel 
to  young  Drake  ;  and  thus  in  the  active  and  vigilant  dis- 
charge of  his  first  humble  duties  was  laid  the  sure  founda- 
tion of  future  eminence  and  prosperity.  At  the  early  age 
of  eighteen  Drak3  was  made  purser  of  a  ship  trading  to 
Biscay,  and  soon  afterward  engaged  in  the  Guinea  trade, 
which  had  lately  been  opened  by  the  enterprise  of  his  re- 
puted relation,  Captain  John  Hawkins.  The  cruelty  and 
injustice  of  this  traffic  was  the  discovery  of  a  much  later 
age. 

The  regular  course  of  the  trade,  the  most  lucrative  in 
which  England  had  ever  been  engaged,  was  for  ships  to  re- 
pair first  to  the  Guinea  coast  for  the  human  cargo  obtained 
by  fraud,  violence,  and  the  most  inhuman  means,  and  then 


SIR   JOHN   HAWKINS.  55 

to  the  Spanish  islands  and  the  colonies  on  the  main,  where 
the  Africans  were  bartered  for  silver,  sugar,  hides,  &c.  &c. 
The  history  of  the  first  voyage  to  the  Guinea  coast  is  that 
of  every  succeeding  one  : — "  Master  John  Hawkins,  coming 
upon  the  coast  of  Sierra  Leone,  staid  for  some  time ;  and 
partly  by  the  sword,  and  partly  by  other  means,  got  into  his 
possession  three  hundred  negroes  at  the  least." 

Few  voyages  had  been  made  from  England  to  this  new 
El  Dorado  when  Drake,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  desirous  of 
extending 'his  professional  knowledge  and  participating  in 
the  gains  of  the  slave-trade,  embarked  for  Guinea  in  the 
squadron  of  Captain  John  Hawkins.  Though  Hawkins  for 
his  exploits  on  the  Guinea  coast  had  already  obtained  for 
his  coat-of-arms,  by  patent  from  the  herald's  office,  "  a  demi- 
Moor  in  his  proper  colour,  bound  with  a  cord,"  he  was  not 
knighted  till  after  he  had  obtained  distinction  in  the  public 
service.  Whether  Drake  sailed  from  Plymouth  captain  of 
the  Judith,  one  of  the  smallest  ships  of  Hawkins's  squadron, 
in  the  expedition  undertaken  to  Guinea  in  1567,  or  obtained 
this  honour  during  the  voyage,  or  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Juan 
de  Ulloa,  is  not  clear ;  though  it  is  asserted  in  the  relation 
of  Miles  Philip  that  he  went  out  captain.  It  is  sufficient 
that  in  the  desperate  rencounter  at  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa  be- 
tween the  Spaniards  and  the  English  squadron,  he  held  a 
command,  and  honourably  distinguished  himself.  But  this 
somewhat  anticipates  the  order  of  events  in  the  first  remark- 
able period  of  Drake's  history. 

Having  completed  his  cargo  of  slaves,  Hawkins  and  his 
company  took  the  usual  course  to  the  Canaries  and  Spanish 
America,  to  exchange  the  Africans  for  other  wares  more 
valued  in  England.  In  passing,  he  took  the  town  of  Rio 
de  la  Hacha,  because  the  governor  did  not  choose  to  trade 
with  him.  This  circumstance  is  noticed,  as  it  affords  the 
only  shadow  of  palliation  for  the  subsequent  treachery  dis- 
played by  the  Spaniards  in  the  port  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa, 
whither  Hawkins  was  driven  in  to  obtain  shelter  and  re- 
freshments by  the  severe  gales  which  on  his  way  to  Eng- 
land were  encountered  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  When  the 
squadron  of  six  ships  entered  the  port,  they  were  believed  by 
the  inhabitants  to  be  a  Spanish  fleet  then  hourly  expected ; 
and  those  who  came  on  board  were  in  some  consternation 
on  discovering  the  mistake.  Hawkins,  who  from  the  first 


56       AFFAIR  OF  ST.  JUAN  DE  ULLOA. 

professed  that  he  came  in  peace  and  friendship,  to  obtain 
shelter  from  stress  of  weather,  and  provisions  for  his  money 
and  merchandise,  treated  them  with  civility,  but  thought  it 
prudent  to  detain  two  persons  of  consequence  as  hostages 
till  assured  of  the  terms  on  which  he  was  to  be  received. 
The  temptation  of  twelve  merchant-ships  lying  in  the  port, 
with  cargoes  estimated  at  200,000/.,  did  not  shake  his  in- 
tegrity, though  he  was  aware  that  they  might  easily  be 
overmastered  by  his  force.  It  is,  indeed,  candidly  confessed 
by  Hawkins  that  he  dreaded  the  displeasure  of  the  queen. 
A  messenger  was  despatched  to  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  ;  but 
before  any  answer  could  be  returned  to  the  demand  of  Haw- 
kins the  expected  fleet  appeared,  and  his  situation  became 
uneasy  and  critical.  The  Spanish  fleet  had  on  board  a 
cargo  valued  at  six  or  seven  millions.  If  Hawkins  pre- 
vented them  from  entering  the  harbour,  they  ran  imminent 
risk  of  destruction ;  and  if  admitted,  his  own  safety  was 
put  in  jeopardy ;  the  port  being  confined,  the  town  popu- 
lous, and  the  Spaniards  ready,  he  believed,  and  fatally  ex- 
perienced, to  practise  any  treachery.  At  last  the  fleet  was 
admitted,  the  governor  of  Mexico  agreeing  to  the  terms 
stipulated,  which  were,  the  exchange  of  hostages,  a  supply 
of  provisions  on  fair  terms,  and  that  a  fortified  island  which 
lay  across  and  commanded  the  port  should  be  given  up  to 
the  English  till  their  departure.  On  the  faith  of  this  treaty 
the  Spanish  fleet  were  allowed  to  sail  in,  mutual  salutations 
were  fired  by  the  ships  of  both  nations,  and  visits  and  civili- 
ties exchanged  between  the  officers  and  the  seamen. 

Save  for  embroiling  England  in  war,  and  thereby  incur- 
ring the  wrath  of  Elizabeth,  and  perhaps  endangering  his 
own  neck,  Hawkins,  dissatisfied  and  rendered  suspicious  by 
the  tardiness  of  the  late  negotiation,  would  certainly  have 
put  all  to  the  hazard  of  a  fight,  and  have  gained  glory  and 
the  seven  millions,  or  have  lost  himself;  but  he  was  now 
lulled  into  temporary  security  on  the  faith  of  a  treaty  which 
the  Spaniards  had  never  meant  to  observe  longer  than  until 
they  were  able  to  violate  it  with  impunity.  Their  fleet  was 
reinforced  by  a  thousand  men  secretly  conveyed  from  the 
land.  An  unusual  bustle  and  shifting  of  men  and  weapons 
from  ship  to  ship  was  noticed  by  the  English,  and  their  de- 
mand for  explanation  of  these  symptoms  was  answered  by 
an  instant  attack  on  all  sides.  The  Minion  and  the  Judith 


SPANISH    TREACHERY.  57 

(the  small  vessel  commanded  by  Drake)  were  the  only  Eng- 
lish ships  that  escaped  ;  and  their  safety  was  owing  to  the 
valour  and  conduct  of  the  commanders,  and  only  ensured 
after  a  desperate  though  short  conflict.  The  other  four 
vessels  were  destroyed,  and  many  of  the  seamen  were  rather 
butchered  in  cold  blood  than  killed  in  action.  The  English 
who  held  the  fortress,  struck  with  alarm,  fled  to  reach  the 
ships  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight ;  and  in  the  attempt  were 
massacred  without  mercy.  Such  an  engagement  in  a  nar- 
row port,  each  of  the  English  vessels  surrounded  and 
attacked  by  three  or  four  of  those  of  Spain,  presents  a  scene 
of  havoc  and  confusion  unparalleled  in  the  records  of  mari- 
time warfare.  By  the  desperate  valour  of  the  English  in 
this  unequal  combat  the  Admiral  and  several  more  of  the 
Spanish  ships  were  burnt  and  sunk. 

Placed  between  the  fortress  and  the  still  numerous  fleet, 
it  was  by  miracle  that  even'  one  English  vessel  got  away. 
Hawkins  reached  England  in  the  Minion,  which  suffered 
incredible  hardships  in  the  homeward  voyage.  She  left  the 
port  without  provisions  or  water,  and  crowded  with  seamen 
who  had  escaped  the  general  slaughter,  many  of  them 
wounded.  The  relation  of  their  hardships,  produced  as 
they  were  by  the  basest  treachery,  must  have  made  an  in- 
delible impression  in  England,  where  the  Spaniards  were 
already  in  bad  odour.  The  details  given  by  Miles  Philip  of 
the  hardships  of  the  voyage  are  too  revolting  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  this  narrative,  but  may  be  imagined  from  the  words 
of  Hawkins  : — "  If  all  the  miseries  and  troublesome  affairs 
of  this  voyage  be  thoroughly  written,  there  would  need  a 
painful  man  with  his  pen,  and  as  great  a  time  as  he  that 
wrote  the  Lives  of  the  Martyrs."  The  Judith,  Drake's  ves- 
sel, which  parted  from  the  Minion  on  the  fatal  night — 
("  forsook  us  in  our  great  misery"  are  the  words  of  Haw- 
kins)— made  the  homeward  voyage  with  less  hardship  and 
difficulty  than  the  Minion. 

Here  Drake  had  lost  his  all,  and  here  was  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  that  hatred  and  distrust  of  the  Spaniards  which  must 
have  palliated  many  of  his  subsequent  actions,  and  recon- 
ciled his  countrymen  to  conduct  they  might  not  so  readily 
have  pardoned  in  one  less  sinned  against.  The  chaplain 
of  the  fleet  obtains  the  credit  of  expounding  the  justice  of 
Baking  reprisals  on  all  Spaniards  for  the  wrong  inflicted  by 


58  NEW   EXPEDITION. 

a  few ;  but  this  might  well  be  a  spontaneous  feeling  in  a 
brave  young  man  burning  with  resentment  at  the  perfidy  by 
which  his  comrades  had  been  murdered  and  himself  betrayed 
and  beggared.  It  has  been  quaintly  said  that  "in  sea- 
divinity  the  case  was  clear.  The  King  of  Spam's  subjects 
had  undone  Mr.  Drake,  and  therefore  Mr.  Drake  was  enti- 
tled to  take  the  best  satisfaction  he  could  on  the  subjects  of 
the  King  of  Spain." 

This  doctrine  was  very  taking  in  England,  where  "  the 
good  old  rule,  the  simple  plan,"  was  still  followed, —  * 

"  That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 
And  those  should  keep  who  can." 

The  scheme  of  Drake  for  a  new  expedition  to  the  Spanish 
American  colonies  was  accordingly  no  sooner  made  public 
than  he  found  numbers  of  volunteers  and  friends  ready  to 
promote  so  praiseworthy  a  design  as  that  which  he  was  pre- 
sumed to  entertain,  and  who,  having  no  personal  quarrel  of 
their  own,  were  quite  ready  to  adopt  his,  if  the  issue  prom- 
ised any  share  of  those  treasures  with  the  fame  of  which 
Europe  rung.  But  Drake  was  not  yet  prepared  for  the  full 
development  of  his  projects,  and  in  all  probability  it  was  but 
gradually  that  they  arose  in  his  own  mind. 

The  infamous  transactions  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa  took  place 
in  September,  1568,  and  in  1570  Drake  undertook  his  first 
voyage  with  two  ships,  the  Dragon  and  the  Swan.  In  the 
following  year  he  sailed  with  the  Swan  alone.  That  the 
means  of  undertaking  any  voyage  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  man  still  so  young  is  highly  creditable  to  his  character 
and  good  conduct.  These  might  be  called  preparatory  or 
experimental  voyages,  in  which  he  cautiously  and  carefully 
reconnoitred  the  scene  of  future  exploits  ;  and  improving  his 
acquaintance  with  the  islands  and  coasts  of  South  America 
on  the  only  side  hitherto  supposed  accessible  to  Englishmen, 
amassed  the  wealth  which  enabled  him  to  extend  his  sphere 
of  enterprise,  and  enrich  himself  and  his  owners  while  pay- 
ing back  part  of  his  old  debt  to  Spain. 

Drake's  first  bold  and  daring  attempt  at  reprisal  was 
made  in  1572.  His  squadron  consisted  of  two  vessels  of 
email  weight, — and  this  kind  of  light  bark  he  seemed 
always  to  prefer, — the  Pacha  of  seventy  tons  burthen,  which 
he  commanded,  and  the  Swan,  once  again  afloat,  a  vessel 


ATTACK  ON  NOMBRE   DE   DIGS.  59 

of  twenty-five  tons,  in  which  he  placed  his  brother  Mr.  John 
Drake.  His  whole  force  consisted  of  seventy-three*  men 
and  boys.  Instead  of  setting  out,  as  has  been  alleged,  with 
so  slender  a  force  as  twenty-three  men  and  boys,  to  take 
ships  and  storm  towns,  it  is  probable  that  Drake,  after 
leaving  England,  recruited  his  numbers  from  vessels  with 
which  he  fell  in  among  the  islands,  as  Lopez  Vaz  relates 
that  at  Nombre  de  Dios  he  landed  150  men.  This  town 
was  at  that  time  what  Porto  Bello,  a  much  more  conve- 
nient station,  afterward  became, — the  entrepdt  between  the 
commodities  of  old  Spain  and  the  wealth  of  India  and 
Peru  ;  and  in  riches  imagined  to  be  inferior  only  to  Panama 
on  the  western  shore.  It  was,  however,  merely  a  stage  in 
the  transmission  of  treasure  and  merchandise,  and  not  their 
abiding  place ;  and  at  particular  seasons  the  town,  which 
did  not  at  any  time  exceed  thirty  houses,  was  almost  de- 
serted. 

On  the  24th  March,  Drake  sailed  from  Plymouth,  and  on 
the  22d  July,  in  the  night,  made  the  attack  on  the  town. 
A  relation  of  this  adventure,  written  by  Philip  Nicols, 
preacher,  and  afterward  published  by  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
nephew,  heir,  and  godson  of  the  navigator,  is  both  less  ac- 
curate and  circumstantial  than  the  narrative  of  Lopez  Vaz, 
who,  if  not  an  eyewitness,  was  near  the  spot,  and  conver- 
sant with  the  actors  and  spectators.  Drake's  force  is  esti- 
mated at  150  men,  half  of  which  he  left  at  a  small  fort, 
and  with  the  other  division  advanced  in  cautious  silence  to 
the  market-place,  when  he  ordered  the  calivers  to  be  dis- 
charged, and  the  trumpet  to  be  loudly  sounded,  the  trum- 
peter in  the  fort  replying,  and  the  men  firing  at  the  same 
time,  which  made  the  alarmed  Spaniards,  startled  out  of 
their  sleep,  believe  the  place  was  attacked  on  all  sides. 
Some  scarcely  awake  fled  to  the  mountains ;  but  a  band 
of  fourteen  or  fifteen  rallied,  and,  armed  with  arquebuses, 

*  In  Campbell's  Lives  of  the  British  Admirals  the  number  of  men  is 
stated  at  twenty-three,  which  is  evidently  a  misprint  or  mistake.  The 
Biographia  Britannica,  from  which  the  Life  of  Drake  in  the  Lives  of  the 
Admirals  is  taken  almost  verbatim,  makes  their  number  seventy-three, 
which  is  further  confirmed  by  the  narrative  of  Lopez  Var,,  a  Portuguese, 
•who  wrote  a  relation  of  the  adventures  of  Drake  in  this  voyage,  which 
was  afterward  found  in  the  custody  of  Vaz,  when  he  was  made  prisoner 
by  the  English  in  Rio  de  la  Plata,  in  1587. 


60  ISTHMUS    OF   DARIEN. 

repaired  to  the  scene  of  action.  Discovering  the  small 
number  of  the  assailants,  they  took  courage,  fired  and  killed 
the  trumpeter,  and  wounded  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  party, 
— Drake  was  also  wounded.  The  men  in  the  fort,  hearing 
the  trumpet  silenced,  which  had  been  the  preconcerted 
signal,  while  the  firing  continued  more  briskly  than  before, 
became  alarmed,  and  fled  to  their  pinnaces. 

Lopez  Vaz  relates  that  Drake's  followers,  retiring  on  the 
fort  and  finding  it  evacuated,  shared  in  the  panic,  hastened 
to  the  shore  leaving  their  equipments  behind,  and  by  wading 
and  swimming  reached  the  pinnaces.  One  Spaniard  look- 
ing out  at  a  window  was  accidentally  killed. 

Disappointed  of  the  rich  booty  expected  in  the  town, 
Drake,  on  information  obtained  from  the  Symerons,  a  tribe 
of  Indians  in  the  Darien  who  lived  in  constant  hostility 
with  the  Spaniards,  resolved  to  intercept  the  mules  em- 
ployed to  carry  treasure  from  Panama  to  Nombre  de  Dios. 
Leaving  his  small  squadron  moored  within  the  Sound  of 
Darien,  he  set  out,  with  a  hundred  men  and  a  number  of 
Indians,  to  attack  and  plunder  this  caravan  of  the  New 
World.  The  plan,  so  well  laid,  was  in  the  first  instance 
frustrated  by  a  drunken  seaman. 

It  was  in  this  expedition  across  the  isthmus  that  Drake, 
from  the  first  sight  of  the  Pacific,  received  that  inspiration 
which,  in  the  words  of  Camden,  "  left  him  no  rest  in  his 
own  mind  till  he  had  accomplished  his  purpose  of  sailing 
an  English  ship  in  those  seas."  The  account  of  this  ad- 
venture, alluded  to  in  the  beginning  of  this  volume,  is  in 
one  original  history  so  interesting  and  picturesque  that  we 
transfer  it  without  mutilation  : — "  On  the  twelfth  day  we 
came  to  the  height  of  the  desired  hill  (lying  east  and  west 
like  a  ridge  between  the  two  seas)  about  ten  of  the  clock ; 
where  the  chiefest  of  the  Symerons  took  our  captain  by  the 
hand  and  prayed  him  to  follow  him.  Here  was  that  goodly 
and  great  high  tree,  in  which  they  had  cut,  and  made 
divers  steps  to  ascend  near  the  top,  where  they  had  made 
a  convenient  bower,  wherein  ten  or  twelve  men  might 
easily  sit ;  and  from  thence  we  might  see  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  we  came  from,  and  the  South  Atlantic  so  much  de- 
sired. South  and  north  of  this  tree  they  had  felled  certain 
trees  that  the  prospect  might  bo  the  clearer. 

"  After  our  captain  had  ascended  to  this  bower  with  the 


RETURN   OF    DRAKE.  61 

chief  Symeron,  and  having,  as  it  pleased  God  at  this  time 
by  reason  of  the  breeze,  a  very  fair  day,  had  seen  that  sea 
of  which  he  had  heard  such  golden  reports,  he  besought  of 
Almighty  God  of  his  goodness  to  give  him  life  and  leave 
to  sail  once  in  an  English  ship  in  that  sea,  and  then,  calling 
up  all  the  rest  of  our  men,  acquainted  John  Oxnam  espe- 
cially with  this  his  petition  and  purpose,  if  it  should  please 
God  to  grant  him  that  happiness." 

This  enthusiasm  of  a  noble  ambition  did  not,  however, 
divert  the  thoughts  of  the  adventurer  from  enterprises  of  a 
more  questionable  kind.  Disappointed  at  Nombre  de  Dios, 
and  again  of  intercepting  the  mules,  he  stormed  Venta 
Cruz,  a  half-way  station  for  the  lodgment  of  goods  and 
refreshment  of  travellers  making  their  way  through  the 
difficult  and  fatiguing  passes  of  the  isthmus.  According 
to  Lopez  Vaz,  six  or  seven  merchants  were  killed ;  and  as 
no  gold  or  silver  was  obtained  to  satiate  the  thirst  of  the 
English  seamen,  goods  were  wantonly  destroyed  to  the 
amount  of  two  thousand  ducats.  It  is  however  not  easy  to 
say  whether  it  was  before  or  after  this  outrage  that  a 
string  of  treasure-mules  was  by  accident  surprised.  The 
gold  was  carried  off,  and  as  much  silver  as  it  was  possible 
to  bear  away.  The  rest  was  buried  till  a  new  voyage 
should  be  undertaken,  and  Drake  and  his  company  regained 
their  ships  just  in  time  to  escape  the  Spaniards. — "  Fortune 
so  favoured  his  proceedings,"  says  Vaz,  "  that  he  had  not 
been  above  half  an  hour  on  board  when  there  came  to  the 
seaside  above  three  hundred  soldiers,  which  were  sent  of 
purpose  to  take  him  ;  but  God  suffered  him  to  escape  their 
hands  to  be  a  further  plague  unto  the  Spaniards."  In  this 
expedition  a  trait  of  Drake's  character  is  recorded,  which 
at  once  marks  his  generosity  and  enlightened  policy.  To 
the  cacique  of  the  friendly  Symerons  he  had  presented  his 
own  cutlass,  for  which  the  chief  had  discovered  a  true  In- 
dian longing.  In  return  the  Indian  gave  him  four  large 
wedges  of  gold,  which,  declining  to  appropriate,  Drake 
threw  into  the  common  stock,  saying,  "  he  thought  it  but 
just  that  such  as  bore  the  charge  of  so  uncertain  a  voyage 
on  his  credit  should  share  the  utmost  advantage  that  voyage 
produced."  And  now,  "  God  suffering  him  to  be  a  further 
plague  to  the  Spanish  nation,  he  sailed  away  with  his 
treasure."  This  was  considerable,  and  good  fortune 
F 


62       DRAKE'S  NEXT  PROJECT. 

attended  Drake  to  the  end  of  his  voyage ;  for,  leaving 
Florida,  in  twenty-three  days  he  reached  the  Scilly  Isles, 
probably  the  quickest  passage  that  had  yet  been  made.  It 
was  in  time  of  public  service,  on  Sunday  the  9th  August, 
1573,  that  he  returned  to  Plymouth;  and  "news  of  Cap- 
tain Drake's  return  being  carried  to  church,  there  remained 
few  or  no  people  with  the  preacher ;  all  running  out  to 
observe  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  dangerous  adventures 
of  the  captain,  who  had  spent  one  year  two  months  and 
some  odd  days  in  this  voyage." 

The  next  undertaking  of  Drake  was  of  a  more  ambitious 
character.  With  the  wealth  acquired  thus  gallantly,  and 
in  the  opinion  of  his  contemporaries  fairly  and  honourably, 
though  the  means  may  not  stand  the  test  of  the  morality 
of  a  more  enlightened  and  philosophic  age,  Drake  fitted 
out  three  stout  frigates,  which,  with  himself  as  a  volunteer, 
he  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Walter,  Earl  of  Essex,  father 
of  the  unfortunate  favourite  of  Elizabeth.  Of  these  he 
was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  appointed  commander,  and  per- 
formed good  sendee  in  subduing  the  rebellion  in  Ireland. 
His  former  reputation  and  his  late  exploits  had  now  ac- 
quired for  Drake  high  fame  and  noble  patronage.  He  be- 
came known  to  the  queen  through  the  introduction  of  her 
favourite  and  privy-counsellor,  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  a 
distinction  doubly  desirable  as  it  promised  assistance  in 
"  that  haughty  design  which  every  day  and  night  lay  next 
his  heart,  pricking  him  forwards  to  the  performance." 

Though,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment  of  inspiration, 
Drake  had  betrayed  his  project,  when  the  time  came  for  its 
accomplishment  he  maintained  an  almost  suspicious  re- 
serve, meditating  his  great  design  without  "  confiding  it  to 
any  one."  His  character  through  life  was  that  of  a  man 
who  listens  to  every  one's  counsel,  but  follows  his  own ; 
and  doubtless  in  the  purpose  he  meditated  there  was  no 
judgment  so  well  informed  and  ripe. 


SPEECH   OF   ELIZABETH.  63 


CHAPTER  III. 

Drake's  Circumnavigation.  * 

The  Queen  approves  the  new  Expedition— Drake's  Squadron— Cape 
Cantin— Muley  Moloch— Cape  Blanco— Mayo  and  Brava— The  Bra- 
zilians— Ostriches — Natives  of  Seal  Bay — Their  Manners  and  Dis- 
position— Patagonians — Unfortunate  Affray — Stature  of  the  Indians 
— Port  St.  Julian — Doughty's  Trial  and  Execution — Passage  of  the 
Strait— The  Natives— The  Fleet  separated— Tierra  del  Fuego— Fate 
of  the  Shallop's  Crew— Cape  Horn— The  Elizabethides—  Capture  of 
Spanish  Prizes — Lamas  with  Treasure— Capture  of  the  Cacafuego — 
The  Hind  proceeds  in  Search  of  the  North-west  Passage — Indians 
of  New  Albion  discovered— Singular  Manners  of  the  Indians- 
Drake  crosses  the  Pacific— The  Ladrones— The  Moluccas— Remark- 
able Preservation— Baratane— Java— The  Voyage  Home— The  Cape 
of  Good  Hope— Arrival  at  Plymouth— Drake's  Fame— The  Queen 
visits  his  Ship. 

SPAIN  and  England  were  still  nominally  at  peace,  though 
the  national  animosity  was  continually  breaking  out  in 
fits  of  aggression  and  violence  ;  and  if  Elizabeth  did  not 
absolutely  discountenance,  her  policy  forbade  open  appro- 
bation of  a  project  so  equivocal  as  that  which  Drake  con- 
templated. It  is  however  certain  that  the  plan  of  his 
voyage  was  laid  before  the  queen  ;  and  her  majesty,  once 
convinced  of  its  importance,  and  the  glory  and  advantage 
which  might  be  derived  to  her  kingdom  from  its  prosperous 
issue,  was  easily  reconciled  to  the  justice  of  what  appeared 
so  expedient.  The  plan  accordingly  at  last  received  her 
decided  though  secret  approbation.  In  one  relation  of 
the  voyage  it  is  even  affirmed  that  Drake  held  the  royal 
commission,  though  this  is  not  probable.  What  follows 
is  more  true  to  the  character  of  Elizabeth,  subtle  at  once 
and  bold.  At  a  parting  interview  she  is  said  to  have  pre- 
sented Drake  with  a  sword,  delivered  with  this  emphatic 
speech,  "We  do  account  that  he  who  striketh  at  thee, 
Drake,  striketh  at  us."  Even  this  verbal  commission 
saves  Drake  from  the  charge  of  having  made  a  piratical 
voyage,  or  divides  the  shame  with  his  sovereign. 

The  high  estimation  in  which  Drake  was  now  held  may 


64  THE    SQUADRON. 

be  gathered  from  the  readiness  with  which  friends  and 
admirers  placed  in  his  hands  their  ships,  and  the  means 
of  equipping  a  squadron  to  go  on  some  expedition  of  which 
the  destination  lay  hid  in  his  own  bosom.  Nor,  though 
the  horrible  sufferings  of  Hawkins's  crew  and  more  recent 
disasters  were  still  fresh  in  the  public  memory,  did  he  lack 
both  officers  and  seamen,  from  among  the  most  bold,  able, 
and  active  of  that  age,  who  were  ready  to  follow  him  blind- 
fold to  the  end  of  the  world.  Some  of  the  more  sordid 
might  from  afar  smell  the  spoils  of  the  Spaniards,  but  many 
were  actuated  by  nobler  motives. 

The  squadron  was  ostensibly  fitted  out  for  a  trading 
voyage  to  Alexandria,  though  the  pretence  deceived  no 
one,  and  least  of  all  the  watchful  Spaniards.  It  consisted 
of  five  vessels  of  light  burthen,  the  largest  being  only  100 
tons.  This  was  named  the  Pelican,  and  was  the  captain- 
general's  ship.  The  others  were,  the  Elizabeth,  a  bark  of 
80  tons  belonging  to  London,  and  commanded  by  Captain 
John  Winter;  the  Swan,  a  fly-boat  of  50  tons  burthen, 
Captain  John  Chester ;  the  Christopher,  a  pinnace  of  15 
tons,  Captain  Thomas  Moone  ;  and  the  Marigold,  a  bark 
of  30  tons,  Captain  John  Thomas.  The  Benedict,  a  pin- 
nace of  12  tons,  accompanied  the  Elizabeth.  The  frames 
of  four  pinnaces  were  taken  out,  to  be  set  up  as  they  were 
wanted.  The  anxiety  displayed  for  the  proper  outfit  of 
the  squadron,  the  extent  of  preparations  in  provisioning 
the  ships,  and  laying  in  arms  and  stores  equal  to  a  very 
long  voyage,  and  the  improbability  of  Drake,  after  his  late 
exploits,  undertaking  a  peaceful  expedition  for  traffic,  had 
betrayed  in  part  his  design  before  the  fleet  left  England ; 
but  when,  out  of  sight  of  the  land,  the  captain-general,  in 
case  of  separation,  appointed  a  rendezvous  at  the  island  of 
Mogadore  on  the  Barbary  coast,  there  was  no  remaining 
doubt  that  his  enterprise  pointed  to  a  place  more  distant 
and  important  than  Alexandria. 

Though  it  is  probable  that  traversing  the  Pacific  was  a 
subsequent  idea  arising  from  the  condition  in  which  we 
shall  find  him  after  leaving  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  Drake 
is  not  the  less  entitled  to  the  praise  he  has  often  received 
for  attempting  an  enterprise  like  that  of  passing  the  Straits 
of  Magellan  with  so  small  a  force,  and  adventuring  into 
wild,  stormy,  and  unknown  seas  with  ships  of  so  little 


SPANISH   SUPERSTITIONS.  65 

4 

weight.  The  passage  of  the  straits,  even  to  a  man  not  so 
obnoxious  to  the  Spanish  nation,  was  a  project  which 
could  only  rationally  be  entertained  by  a  bold  and  com- 
manding genius,  relying  implicitly  on  its  own  resources. 
The  dangers  and  difficulties  of  Magellan's  Strait  had  made 
it  be  for  a  long  period  of  years  almost  abandoned  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  it  was  come  to  be  a  saying  among  them 
that  the  passage  had  closed  up.  A  superstitious  prejudice 
was  conceived  against  all  farther  attempts  in  the  SOUTH 
SEA,  which,  it  was  asserted,  had  proved  fatal  to  every  one 
who  had  been  celebrated  as  a  discoverer  there, — as  if 
Providence  had  a  controversy  with  those  who  were  so 
daring  as  to  pass  the  insuperable  barriers  placed  between 
the  known  and  the  unknown  world.  Magellan  had  been 
killed  by  the  heathen  in  this  new  region,  which  Europeans 
had  no  sanction  to  approach ;  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the 
European  who  first  saw  the  South  Sea,  put  to  death  by  his 
countrymen  ;  and  De  Solis  cruelly  murdered  by  the  na- 
tives of  Rio  de  la  Plata,  when  proceeding  to  the  strait. 
Most  of  the  commanders  had  successively  perished  of  dis- 
eases produced  by  the  hardships  and  anxiety  attending  the 
voyage.  The  mariner  De  Lope,  who  from  the  topmast  of 
a  ship  of  Magellan's  fleet  first  saw  the  strait,  had  a  fate 
still  more  dreadful  in  the  eyes  of  the  good  Catholics  of 
Castile,  as  he  had  turned  a  renegado  and  Mohammedan. 
None  of  these  real  and  imaginary  dangers  deterred  Drake  ; 
and  he,  who  at  all  times  preferred  vessels  of  light  burden, 
as  of  greater  utility  in  threading  narrow  and  intricate 
channels  and  coasting  unknown  shores  than  ships  of  large 
and  unwieldy  size,  selected  those  mentioned  above. 

Besides  the  cargoes  usually  exported  for  trading,  both 
with  civilized  and  savage  nations,  Drake,  who  knew  the 
full  value  of  shows  and  pageants,  and  whatever  strikes  the 
senses,  had  taken  care  to  equip  himself  with  many  ele- 
gancies seldom  thought  of  by  early  navigators.  His  own 
furniture  and  equipage  were  splendid,  and  his  silver 
cooking  utensils  and  the  plate  of  his  table  of  rich  and  cu- 
rious workmanship.  He  also  carried  out  a  band  of 
musicians,  and  studied  every  thing  that  could  impress  the 
natives  in  the  lands  he  was  to  visit  or  discover  with  the 
magnificence  and  the  high  state  of  refinement  and  of  the 
arts  in  his  own  country. 

F2 


66  MOGADORE. 

On  the  15th  November,  1577,  the  squadron  sailed  from 
Plymouth,  but,  encountering  a  violent  gale  on  the  same 
night,  were  forced  to  put  back  into  FaJmouth  :  the  main- 
mast of  the  Pelican  was  cut  away,  and  the  Marigold  was 
driven  on  shore  and  shattered.  This  was  a  disheartening 
ouset ;  but  after  refitting  at  Plymouth,  they  sailed  once 
more  on  the  13th  December,  and  proceeded  prosperously. 

On  Christmas-day  they  reached  Cape  Cantin  on  the 
coast  of  Barbary,  and  on  the  27th  Mogadore, — an  island 
lying  about  a  mile  from  the  mainland,  between  which  and 
it  they  found  a  safe  and  convenient  harbour.  Mogadore 
is  an  island  of  moderate  height ;  it  is  about  a  league  in 
circuit.  Having  sent  out  a  boat  to  sound,  they  entered  by 
the  north  approach  to  the  port,  the  southern  access  being 
found  rocky  and  shallow.  Here  Drake  halted  to  fit  up  one 
of  the  pinnaces  for  service  ;  and,  while  thus  engaged, 
some  of  the  Barbary  Moors  appeared  on  the  shore,  display- 
ing a  flag  of  truce,  and  making  signals  to  be  taken  on 
board.  Two  of  superior  condition  were  brought  to  the 
ships,  an  English  hostage  being  left  on  shore  for  their  safe 
return.  The  strangers  were  courteously  received  and  hos- 
pitably regaled  by  the  captain-general,  who  presented 
them  with  linen,  shoes,  and  a  javelin.  When  sent  on 
shore,  the  hostage  was  restored  ;  and  next  day,  as  several 
loaded  camels  were  seen  approaching,  it  was  naturally 
presumed  their  burdens  were  provisions  and  merchandise, 
and  the  English  sent  off  a  boat  to  trade.  On  the  boat 
reaching  the  shore,  a  seaman  more  alert  than  his  neigh- 
bours leaped  among  the  Moors,  and  was  instantly  snatched 
up,  thrown  across  a  horse,  and  the  whole  party  set  off  at  a 
round  gallop.  The  boat's  crew,  instead  of  attempting  to 
rescue  their  companion,  consulted  their  personal  safety  by 
an  immediate  retreat  to  the  ships.  Indignant  at  the  treach- 
ery of  the  Moors,  Drake  landed  with  a  party  to  recover  the 
Englishman  and  take  vengeance ;  but  was  compelled  to 
return  without  accomplishing  his  object.  Time,  which 
cleared  up  the  mystery,  also  partly  exculpated  the  Moors. 
It  was  ascertained  that  the  seaman  had  been  seized  to  be 
examined  by  the  king,  the  famous  Muley  Moloch,  respect- 
ing an  armament  then  fitting  out  by  the  Portuguese  to  in- 
vade his  territory, — an  invasion  which  soon  afterward  took 
place,  and  of  which  the  results  are  well  known.  Before  tho 


CAPE    BLANCO MAYO.  67 

prisoner  was  dismissed  the  fleet  had  sailed ;  but  he  was 
well  treated,  and  permitted  to  return  to  England  by  the 
first  ship  that  offered. 

The  fleet,  having  taken  in  wood,  sailed  on  the  31st  De- 
cember, and  on  the  17th  January,  1578,  reached  Cape 
Blanco,  having  on  the  cruise  captured  three  caunters,  as 
the  Spanish  fishing-boats  were  called,  and  two,  or  else 
three,  caravels, — the  accounts  on  this,  as  on  several  other 
minor  points  being  often  contradictory.  A  ship  which  was 
surprised  in  the  harbour  with  only  two  men  on  board  shared 
the  same  fate.  At  Cape  Blanco  they  halted  for  five  days' 
fishing ;  while  on  shore  Drake  exercised  his  company  in 
arms,  thus  studying  both  their  health  and  the  maintenance 
of  good  discipline.  From  the  stores  of  the  fishermen  they 
helped  themselves  to  such  commodities  as  they  wanted,  and 
sailed  on  the  22d,  carrying  off  also  a  caunter  of  40  tons  bur- 
then, for  which  the  owner  received,  as  a  slight  indemnifica- 
tion, the  pinnace  Christopher.  At  Cape  Blanco  fresh  water 
was  at  this  season  so  scarce,  that  instead  of  obtaining  a 
supply,  Drake,  compassionating  the  condition  of  the  na- 
tives, who  came  down  from  the  heights,  offering  ambergris 
and  gums  in  exchange  for  it,  generally  filled  their  leathern 
bags  without  accepting  any  recompense,  and  otherwise 
treated  them  humanely  and  hospitably.  Four  of  the  prizes 
were  released  here.  After  six  days'  sailing  they  came  to 
anchor  on  the  28th  at  the  west  part  of  Mayo, — an  island 
where,  according  to  the  information  of  the  master  of  the 
caravel,  dried  goat's  flesh  might  be  had  in  plenty,  the  inhabit- 
ants preparing  a  store  annually  for  the  use  of  the  king's 
ships.  The  people  on  the  island,  mostly  herdsmen  and 
husbandmen,  belonging  to  the  Portuguese  of  the  island  of 
St.  Jago,  would  have  no  intercourse  with  the  ships,  having 
probably  been  warned  of  danger.  Next  day  a  party  of 
sixty  men  landed,  commanded  by  Captain  Winter  and  Mr. 
Doughty, — a  name  with  which,  in  the  sequel,  the  reader  will 
become  but  too  familiar.  They  repaired  to  what  was  de- 
scribed as  the  capital  of  the  island,  by  which  must  be  un- 
derstood the  principal  aggregation  of  cabins  or  huts,  but 
found  it  deserted.  The  inhabitants  had  fled,  and  had  pre- 
viously salted  the  springs.  The  country  appeared  fertile, 
especially  in  the  valleys  ;  and  in  the  depth  of  the  winter  of 
Great  Britain  they  feasted  on  ripe  and  delicious  grapes. 
The  island  also  produced  cocoanuts,  and  they  saw  abiu> 


68  ISLA    DEL    FOGO BRAVA. 

dance  of  goats  and  wild  hens  ;  though  these  good  things, 
and  the  fresh  springs,  were  unfortunately  too  far  distant  from 
the  ships  to  be  available.  Salt  produced  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun  formed  here  an  article  of  commerce,  and  one  of  the 
prizes  made  was  a  caravel  bound  to  St.  Jago  for  salt. 

J  .caving  Mayo  on  the  30th,  on  the  south-west  side  of  St. 
Jago,  they  fell  in  with  a  prize  of  more  value, — a  Portu- 
guese* ship  bound  to  Brazil,  laden  with  wine,  cloth,  and 
general  merchandise,  and  having  a  good  many  passengers 
on  board.  The  command  of  this  prize  was  given  to 
Doughty,  who  was  however  soon  afterward  superseded  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Drake,  the  brother  of  the  general.  This  is 
the  first  time  we  hear  of  offences  being  charged  against  the 
unfortunate  Doughty.  It  is  said  he  appropriated  to  his 
own  use  presents,  probably  given  as  bribes  to  obtain  good 
usage,  by  the  Portuguese  prisoners.  These  captives  Drake 
generously  dismissed  at  the  first  safe  and  convenient  place, 
giving  every  passenger  his  wearing  apparel,  and  present- 
ing them  with  a  butt  of  wine,  provisions,  and  the  pinnace 
he  had  set  up  at  Mogadore.  Only  the  pilot  was  detained, 
Nuno  de  Silva,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
and  who  afterward  published  a  minute  and  accurate  account 
of  Drake's  voyage. 

Here,  near  the  island  named  by  the  Portuguese  Isla  del 
Fogo  or  the  Burning  Island,  where,  says  the  Famous 
Voyage,  "  on  the  north  side  is  a  consuming  fire,  the  matter 
whereof  is  said  to  be  sulphur,"  lies  Brava,  described  in  the 
early  narratives  as  a  terrestrial  paradise, — "  a  most  sweet 
and  pleasant  island,  the  trees  whereof  are  always  green, 
and  fair  to  look  upon  ;  in  respect  of  which  they  call  it  Isli 
Brava,  that  is,  The  Brave  Island."  The  "  soil  was  almost 
full  of  trees  ;  so  that  it  was  a  storehouse  of  many  fruits 
and  commodities,  as  figs  always  ripe,  cocoas,  plantains, 
oranges,  lemons,  citrons,  and  cotton.  From  the  brooks 
into  the  sea  do  run  in  many  places  silver  streams  of  sweet 
and  wholesome  water,"  with  which  ships  may  easily  be 
supplied.  There  was,  however,  no  convenient  harbour  nor 
anchoring  found  at  this  "  sweet  and  pleasant"  island, — the 
volcanic  tops  of  Del  Fogo  "  not  burning  higher  in  the  air" 
than  the  foundations  of  Brava  dipped  sheer  into  the  sea. 

*  Portugal  was  at  this  time  annexed  to  the  crown  of  Spain,  which 
enabled  the  English  navigators  to  reconcile  an  attack  on  the  Portuguese 
ships  to  consciences  not  however  particularly  scrupulous. 


RIO    DE    LA    PLATA.  69 

The  squadron  now  approached  the  equinoctial  line, 
sometimes  becalmed,  and  at  other  times  beaten  about  with 
tempests  and  heavy  seas.  In  their  progress  they  were  in- 
debted to  the  copious  rains  for  a  seasonable  supply  of  water. 
They  also  caught  dolphins,  bonitos,  and  flying- fish,  which 
fell  on  the  decks,  and  could  not  rise  again  "for  lack 
of  moisture  on  their  wings."  They  had  left  the  shore  of 
Brava  on  the  2d  February.  On  the  28th  March  their  valu- 
able Portuguese  prize,  which  was  their  wine-cellar  and 
store,  was  separated  in  a  tempest,  but  afterward  rejoined 
at  a  place  which,  in  commemoration  of  the  event,  was  called 
Cape  Joy.  The  coast  of  Brazil  was  now  seen  in  31  £°* 
south.  On  the  5th  April; the  natives,  having  discovered 
the  ships  on  the  coast,  made  great  fires,  went  through  va- 
rious incantations,  and  offered  sacrifices,  as  was  imagined, 
to  the  Devil,  that  the  prince  of  the  powers  of  the  air  might 
raise  storms  to  sink  the  strangers.  To  these  diabolical  arts 
the  mariners  doubtless  attributed  the  violent  lightning, 
thunder,  and  rain  which  they  encountered  in  this  latitude. 
About  Cape  Joy  the  air  was  mild  and  salubrious,  the 
soil  rich  and  fertile.  Troops  of  wild  deer,  "large  and 
mighty,"  were  the  only  living  creatures  seen  on  this  part 
of  the  coast,  though  the  footprints  of  men  of  large  stature 
were  traced  on  the  ground.  Some  seals  were  killed  here, 
fresh  provisions  of  any  kind  never  being  neglected.  On 
the  14th  of  April,  Drake  anchored  within  the  entrance  of 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  where  he  had  appointed  a  rendezvous  in 
case  of  separation  after  leaving  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands; 
and  here  the  caunter,  which  had  separated  in  a  gale  on  the 
7th,  rejoined,  when  the  expedition  sailed  18  leagues  farther 
into  the  river,  where  they  killed  sea-wolves  (seals), — "  whole- 
some but  not  pleasant  food."  Still  farther  in,  they  rode 
in  fresh  water  ;  but  finding  no  good  harbour,  and  having 
taken  in  water,  the  fleet,  on  the  27th,  stood  out,  and  after- 
ward southward.  The  Swan  lost  them  on  the  first  night, 
and  the  caunter,  ever  apt  to  go  astray,  was  separated  ten 
days  afterward.  In  47°  south  a  headland  was  seen,  within 
which  was  a  bay  that  promised  safe  harbourage  ;  and  hav- 
ing, on  the  12th  May,  entered  and  anchored,  Drake,  who 

*  Another  account  says  38°  south.  In  determining  the  latitude  or  Ion- 
eitude,  the  authority  of  Burney  is  generally  followed  in  this  volume,  as 
his  eminent  practical  skill  makes  his  observations  on  the  discrepancies 
In  the  different  accounts  of  great  value. 


70  INDIANS    OF    RIO    DE    LA   PLATA. 

seldom  devolved  the  duty  of  examination  on  an  inferior 
officer,  went  off  in  the  boat  next  morning  to  explore  the 
bay.  Before  he  made  land  a  thick  fog  came  on,  and  was 
followed  by  bad  weather,  which  took  from  him  the  sight 
of  the  fleet.  The  company  became  alarmed  for  their  pro- 
tector and  general,  in  whom  all  their  hopes  of  fortune, 
fame,  and  even  of  preservation  were  placed.  The  Mari- 
gold, a  bark  of  light  weight,  stood  in  for  the  bay,  picked 
up  the  captain-general,  and  came  to  anchor.  In  the  mean 
while  the  other  ships,  as  the  gale  increased,  had  been  com- 
pelled to  stand  out  to  sea.  The  fog  which  had  fallen  be- 
tween Drake  and  the  fleet  also  took  from  his  sight  an  In- 
dian, who,  loudly  shaking  a  rattle,  danced  in  time  to  the 
discordant  music  he  made,  and  by  his  gestures  seemed  to 
invite  the  strangers  on  shore.  Next  day  Drake  landed, 
and  several  Indians  came  in  sight,  to  whom  a  white  flag 
was  waved  in  token  of  amity,  and  as  a  signal  to  approach. 
The  natives  acknowledged  the  symbol  of  peace,  but  still 
kept  at  a  wary  distance. 

Drake  now  ordered  fires  to  be  lighted  as  signals  to  the 
ships  ;  and  they  all  rejoined,  save  the  two  vessels  formerly 
separated. 

In  a  sort  of  storehouse  here,  above  fifty  dried  ostriches 
were  found,  besides  other  birds  laid  up,  dry  or  drying  for 
provision,  by  the  Indians.  It  was  believed  by  some  of  the 
English  that  these  had  been  left  as  a  present ;  and  Drake, 
whether  believing  or  not  in  so  rare  an  instance  of  hospi- 
tality, appropriated  the  dried  birds  to  the  use  of  his  com- 
pany. It  is  a  charitable  conjecture  that  some  of  his  own 
wares  were  left  in  return.  The  manner  in  which  these 
ostriches,  whose  flesh  supplied  food  while  their  feathers 
furnished  ornaments,  were  snared  deserves  notice.  Plumes 
of  feathers  were  affixed  to  a  stick,  made  to  resemble  the 
head  and  neck  of  the  bird.  Behind  these  decoys  the  hunter 
concealed  himself  and,  moving  onwards,  drove  the  ostriches 
into  some  narrow  tongue  of  land,  across  which  strong  nets 
were  placed  to  intercept  the  return  of  the  bird,  which  runs, 
but  cannot  fly.*  Dogs  were  then  set  upon  the  prey,  which 
was  thus  taken. 

*  It  is  to  be  understood  that  in  this  volume  objects  of  Natural  History 
are  often  described  according  to  the  notions  of  early  voyagers,  and  not 
as  further  research  and  observation,  and  the  discoveries"  and  classifica- 
tions of  science,  warrant. 


DRESS    AND    MANNERS    OF    THE    INDIANS.        71 

The  choice  of  the  place  in  which  the  fleet  now  lay  had 
been  dictated  by  necessity  alone.  On  the  15th  it  was 
abandoned,  and  on  the  17th  they  anchored  in  a  good  port, 
in  47^°  south.  Here  seals  were  so  plentiful  that  upwards 
of  200  were  killed  in  an  hour.  While  the  crews  were  fill- 
ing the  water-butts,  killing  seals,  and  salting  birds  for  fu- 
ture provision,  Drake  in  the  Pelican,  and  Captain  Winter 
in  the  Elizabeth,  set  out  on  different  courses  in  quest  of  the 
Swan  and  the  Portuguese  prize.  On  the  same  day  Drake  fell 
in  with  the  Swan,  and,  before  attempting  the  straits,  formed 
the  prudent  resolution  of  diminishing  the  cares  and  hazards 
of  the  voyage  by  reducing  the  number  of  his  ships.  The 
Swan  was  accordingly  broken  up  for  firewood,  after  all  her 
materials  and  stores  had  been  removed. 

When  the  ships  had  lain  here  a  few  days,  a  party  of  the 
natives  came  to  the  shore,  dancing,  leaping,  and  making 
signs  of  invitation  to  a  few  of  the  seamen  then  on  a  small 
island,  which  at  low  water  communicated  with  the  main- 
land. They  were  a  handsome,  strong,  agile  race,  lively 
and  alert.  Their  only  covering  was  the  skin  of  an  animal, 
which,  worn  about  their  middle  when  walking,  was  wrapped 
round  their  shoulders  while  they  squatted  or  lay  on  the 
ground.  They  were  painted  over  the  whole  body  after  a 
grotesque  fashion.  Though  fancy  and  ingenuity  were  dis- 
played in  the  figures  and  patterns,  and  in  the  contrast  and 
variety  of  colours,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the 
practice  had  its  origin  in  utility,  and  was  adopted  as  a  de- 
fence against  cold,  ornament  being  at  first  only  a  secondary 
consideration,  though,  as  in  more  refined  regions,  it  some- 
times usurped  the  place  of  the  principal  object.  These 
Indians  being  first  painted  all  over,  on  this  groundwork 
many  freaks  of  fancy  were  displayed:  white  full-moons 
were  exhibited  to  advantage  on  a  black  ground,  and  black 
suns  on  a  white  one.  Some  had  one  shoulder  black  and 
the  other  white  ;  but  these  were  probably  persons  who 
carried  the  mode  to  the  extreme. 

On  seeing  that  the  signals  made  were  interpreted  in  a 
friendly  way,  Drake  sent  a  boat  to  the  shore  with  bells,  cut- 
lery, and  such  small  wares  as  were  likely  to  be  attractive  and 
acceptable  to  the  tastes  of  the  natives.  As  the  boat  neared  the 
shore,  two  of  the  group,  who  had  been  standing  on  a  height, 
moved  swiftly  down,  but  stopped  short  at  a  little  distance, 


72  DEPARTURE    FROM    SEAL    BAY. 

The  presents  were  fastened  to  a  pole,  and  left  on  the  beach  ; 
and  after  the  boat  put  off  they  were  removed,  and  in  return 
such  feathers  as  the  natives  wore,  and  the  carved  bones 
which  they  used  as  ornaments,  were  deposited  near  or  fast- 
ened to  the  same  pole.  Thus  a  friendly,  if  not  profitable 
or  useful,  traffic  was  established.  For  such  trifles  as  the 
English  bestowed  they  gave  in  return  the  only  articles 
they  possessed  to  which  value  was  attached.  These  were 
bows,  arrows  made  of  reeds  and  pointed  with  flint,  feathers, 
and  carved  bones.  Their  mode  of  exchange  was  to  have 
every  thing  placed  on  the  ground,  from  whence  the  goods 
were  removed,  and  the  article  bartered  for  substituted.  By 
some  of  the  voyagers  these  people  are  described  as  of  gi- 
gantic stature.  They  were  of  a  gay  and  cheerful  disposi- 
tion ;  the  sound  of  the  trumpets  delighted  them  ;  and  they 
danced  merrily  with  the  sailors.  One  of  their  number,  who 
had  tasted  wine,  and  became,  it  is  stated,  intoxicated  with 
the  mere  smell  before  the  glass  reached  his  lips,  always 
Jifterward  approached  the  tents  crying,  "Wine,  wine  !" — 
Their  principal  article  of  food  was  seals,  and  sometimes 
the  flesh  of  other  animals  ;  all  of  which  they  roasted,  or 
rather  scorched  for  a  few  minutes,  in  large  lumps  of  six 
pounds'  weight,  and  then  devoured  nearly  raw, — "  men  and 
women  tearing  it  with  their  teeth  like  lions." 

The  fleet  sailed  from  Seal  Bay,  as  this  place  was  named, 
on  the  3d  June,  and  on  the  12th  came  to  anchor  in  a  bay 
where  they  remained  for  two  days,  during  which  they 
stripped  the  caunter,  and  allowed  it  to  drift.  Drake  had 
thus  reduced  his  force  to  a  more  compact  and  manageable 
form.  The  place  from  which  this  vessel  was  sent  adrift 
is  sometimes  called  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but  seems  to 
have  been  named  Cape  Hope.  From  the  14th  to  the  17th 
May  the  fleet  cruised  about  in  search  of  the  Mary,  the 
Portuguese  prize,  and  then  came  to  anchor  in  a  bay  50° 
20'  south.  On  the  19th  the  missing  vessel  was  found,  and 
next  day  the  whole  squadron  anchored  in  the  Port  St. 
Julian  of  Magellan  in  40°  30'  south  ;  where,  says  one 
relation,  "  we  found  the  gibbet  still  standing  on  the  main 
where  Magellan  did  execute  justice  upon  some  of  his  re- 
bellious and  discontented  company."  So  soon  as  the  ships 
were  safely  moored,  Drake  and  some  of  his  officers  went 
off  in  a  boat  to  examine  the  capabilities  of  this  part  of  the 


UNFORTUNATE    AFFRAY.  73 

coast,  and  on  Landing  met  two  men  of  immense  stature, 
who  appeared  to  give  them  welcome.  These  were  of  the 
Patagonian  tribes  of  Magellan.  A  few  trifles  presented  to 
them  were  accepted  with  pleasure,  and  they  were  apparently 
delighted  by  the  dexterity  with  which  the  gunner  used  the 
English  bow  in  a  trial  of  skill,  sending  his  arrows  so  far 
beyond  their  best  aim.  Nothing,  however,  can  be  more 
fickle  and  capricious  than  the  friendship  of  most  savage 
tribes.  An  Indian  of  less  amiable  disposition  than  his 
companions  approached,  and  with  menacing  gestures  sig- 
niiied  to  the  crew  to  be  gone.  Mr.  Winter,  an  English 
gentleman,  displeased  with  the  interruption  given  to  their 
pastime  by  this  churlish  fellow,  between  jest  and  earnest 
drew  a  shaft,  partly  in  intimidation,  but  also  to  prove  the 
superiority  of  the  English  bow  and  skill.  The  bowstring 
unfortunately  snapped  ;  and  while  he  was  repairing  it  a 
sudden  shower  of  arrows  wounded  him  in  the  shoulder  and 
the  side.  Oliver,  the  gunner,  instantly  levelled  his  piece  ; 
but  it  missed  fire,  and  the  attempt  proved  the  signal  for  his 
destruction.  He  was  pierced  through  with  an  arrow,  and 
immediately  dropped.  At  this  critical  moment  Drake 
ordered  the  rest  of  the  party  to  cover  themselves  with  their 
targets  and  advance  upon  the  Indians,  who  were  fast 
mustering.  With  ready  presence  of  mind,  he  directed  his 
men,  at  the  same  time,  to  break  every  arrow  aimed  at  them, 
as  the  assailants  must  thus  soon  expend  their  stock.  The 
captain-general  might  at  this  juncture  have  remembered 
that  in  the  melee  where  Magellan  lost  his  life  the  same 
arrows  were  picked  up  by  the  people  of  Matan,  and  repeat- 
edly shot,  as  they  drove  the  Spaniards  into  the  water. — 
At  the  same  instant  in  which  he  gave  the  order,  Drake 
seized  the  gunner's  piece,  and  taking  aim  at  the  man  who 
had  killed  Oliver  and  begun  the  affray,  he  shot  him  in  the 
belly.  This  turned  the  fate  of  the  hour,  and  probably  pre- 
vented the  massacre  of  the  whole  party  of  English  ;  for 
many  more  of  the  Patagonians  werS  seen  hastening  from 
the  woods  to  support  their  countrymen,  when  the  hideous 
bellowing  of  the  wounded  man  struck  with  panic  those 
already  engaged,  and  the  whole  fled.  It  was  not  thought 
prudent  to  pursue  them,  nor  even  to  tarry  on  shore  ;  Mr. 
Winter  was  therefore  borne  off  to  the  ships ;  but  in  the 
haste  of  embarkation  the  body  of  the  gunner  was  left. — 
G 


74  STATURE    OF    THE    INDIANS. 

Next  day,  when  looked  after,  the  hody  was  found  uninjured, 
save  that  an  English  arrow  had  been  thrust  into  the  left 
eye.  The  clothes  were  in  part  stripped  off,  and  formed 
into  a  pillow  or  truss,  which  was  placed  under  the  head  of 
the  corpse.  Winter  soon  afterward  died  of  his  wounds. 

This  unfortunate  affray  appears  to  have  been  more  the 
consequence  of  misunderstanding  than  design ;  and  the 
usage  of  the  dead  body  and  subsequent  conduct  of  the  natives 
evince  a  less  revengeful  and  ferocious  disposition  than  is 
usually  displayed  even  among  the  mildest  savage  tribes 
when  inflamed  by  recent  battle.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  time  that  the  fleet  lay  here  no  further  molestation  was 
offered  to  the  English. 

The  stature  of  these  tribes,  and  of  those  in  the  straits, 
has  been  the  subject  of  dispute  among  navigators  from  the 
voyage  <>f  Ma  Lallan  to  our  own  times,  each  succeeding 
band  bring  unwilling  to  yield  an  inch  to  their  precursors, 
or  to  meet  with  "  uiants"  less  formidable  than  those  which 
had  been  j»re\  ionsly  seen.  Clitle,  however,  says,  "they 
were  of  ordinary  height,  and  that  he  had  seen  Englishmen 
taller  than  any  of  them  ;"  and  then,  like  a  true  seaman  of 
the  period,  he  imputes  their  exaggerated  stature  to  the 
"  lies"  of  the  Spaniards,  from  whom  no  good  thing  could 
come  ;  and  who,  in  the  imaginary  impunity  of  escaping  de- 
tection from  the  navigators  of  other  nations,  related  these 
marvellous  tales.  "  The  World  Encompassed"  makes  the 
height  of  these  people  seven  feet  and  a  half.  It  is  not  un- 
likely that  the  mists,  haze,  and  storms  through  which  the 
natives  were  often  partially  seen  in  the  straits,  or  on  those 
wild  coasts,  perched  on  a  rock  or  grovelling  on  the  ground, 
may  be  the  origin  of  the  pigmies  and  giants  of  the  early 
navigators  ;  but  that  tribes  of  tall  though  not  gigantic  sta- 
ture were  seen  in  the  South  Sea  islands,  and  also  on  the 
western  coasts  of  the  continent  of  America,  from  its  south- 
ern extremity  as  far  north  as  was  then  explored,  does  not 
admit  of  doubt.* 

*  The  Patagonian  race  is  still  among  the  least  known  of  all  the  South 
American  tribes.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  of  its  existence,  nor  of 
the  fact  thut  it  is  characterized  by  proportions  exceeding  the  ordinary 
ilini.'usions  of  mankind.  The  Patagonian  people  are  of  limited  numbers, 
nr.d  inhabit  the  eastern  shores  of  the  most  southern  point  of  the  New 
World,  under  a  cold  and  steril  clime.  They  wander  about  from  one 


TRIAL    OF    DOUGHTY.  75 

While  the  fleet  lay  at  Port  St.  Julian  an  event  occurred, 
which,  as  the  contradictory  evidence  is  viewed,  must  either 
be  termed  the  most  heroic  or  the  most  questionable  act  in 
the  life  of  Admiral  Drake.  Mr.  Thomas  Doughty,  a  man 
of  talent,  and  too  probably  of  ill-regulated  ambition,  had 
served  as  an  officer  in  the  fleet,  and  it  is  said  enjoyed  in  a 
high  degree  the  affection  and  confidence  of  the  captain-gen- 
eral, who  must  voluntarily  have  selected  him  as  one  of  his 
company.  Doughty  was  at  this  place  accused  of  conspiracy 
and  mutiny  ;  of  a  plan  to  massacre  Drake  and  the  prin- 
cipal officers,  and  thus  defeat  the  whole  expedition  ;  as  if 
the  first-imagined  crime  did  riot  constitute  sufficient  guilt. 
The  details  of  this  singular  affair  are  scanty,  obscure,  and 
perplexed  ;  and  no  contemporary  writer  notices  any  spe- 
cific fact  or  ground  of  charge.  The  offence  of  Doughty 
is  purely  constructive.  Cliffe  dismisses  the  subject  in 
one  seaman-like  sentence,  merely  saying,  "  Mr.  Thomas 
Doughty  was  brought  to  his  answer, — accused,  convicted, 
and  beheaded."  The  account  in  "  The  World  Encom- 
passed" is  more  elaborate,  and  for  Drake  apologetic,  but 
not  much  more  satisfactory.  It  contains  strong  general 
charges,  but  no  record  of  facts,  nor  a  shadow  of  proof  of  the 
general  allegations.  These  early  chroniclers  appear  either 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  guilt  of  the  culprit,  or  indiffer- 
ent to  the  propriety  of  convincing  others  of  the  justice  and 
necessity  of  their  captain's  sentence,  or  they  were  fully  con- 
vinced that  the  accused  merited  his  fate.  Doughty  had  pre- 
viously been  called  in  question  for  his  conduct  in  accepting 
gifts  or  bribes  while  in  the  Portuguese  prize,  and  he  had 
afterward  strayed  once  or  twice  with  the  same  vessel,  which 

district  to  another,  and  are  but  imperfectly  civilized.  Their  disposi- 
tions,  however,  are  peaceable,  although  their  great  bodily  strength 
would  seem  to  fit  them  for  warlike  enterprise;  but  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  gigantic  forms  are  not  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  increase 
of  physical  energy.  The  average  height  of  these  people  is  about  six 
feet,— an  altitude  which  is  also  extremely  frequent  among  the  chiefs  and 
nobles  of  the  South  Sea  islands.  The  complexion  of  the  1'atagonians  is 
tawny;  their  hair,  of  which  the  colour  is  black  or  brown,  is  lank,  and 
for  the  most  part  very  long.  It  appears  that  this  tribe  have  succeeded 
in  the  training  of  horses, — an  unusual  accomplishment  in  a  tribe  other- 
wise so  uncivilized  ;  but  this,  of  course,  must  have  been  a  compara- 
tively modern  exercise  of  their  ingenuity,  as  horses  were  unknown  in 
America  prior  to  the  period  of  the  Spanish  conquest. 


76  EXECUTION    OF    DOUGHTY. 

was  burnt  to  prevent  like  accidents.  According  to  one  ac- 
count his  treason  was  of  old  date  ;  and  before  the  fleet  left 
Plymouth  he  had  been  hatching  plots  against  his  com- 
mander, who  refused  to  believe  "  that  one  he  so  dearly  loved 
would  conceive  evil  against  him,  till  perceiving  that  lenity 
and  favour  did  little  good,  he  thought  it  high  time  to  call 
those  practices  in  question,  and,  therefore,  setting  good 
watch  over  him,  and  assembling  all  his  captains  and  gentle- 
men of  his  company  together,  he  propounded  to  them  the 
good  parts  that  were  in  this  gentleman,  and  the  great  good- 
will and  inward  affection,  more  than  brotherly,  which  he 
had,  ever  since  his  first  acquaintance,  borne  him,  and  after- 
ward delivered  the  letters  which  were  written  to  him 
(Drake),  with  the  particulars  from  time  to  time,  which  had 
been  observed  not  so  much  by  himself  as  by  his  good 
friends  ;  not  only  at  sea,  but  even  at  Plymouth ;  not  bare 
words,  but  writings ;  not  writings,  but  actions,  tending  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  service  in  hand,  and  making  away 
his  person.  Proofs  were  required,  and  alleged  so  many 
and  so  evident,  that  the  gentleman  himself,  stricken  with 
remorse,  acknowledged  himself  to  have  deserved  death, 
yea,  many  deaths  ;  for  that  he  conspired,  not  only  the  over- 
throw of  the  action,  but  of  the  principal  actor  also."  The 
account  continues  in  the  same  strain,  asserting  that  forty 
of  the  principal  men  of  Drake's  band  adjudged  the  culprit 
to  deserve  death,  and  gave  this  judgment  under  their  hand 
and  seal,  leaving  the  manner  to  the  general,  who  allowed 
the  unfortunate  man  the  choice  of  being  either  abandoned 
on  the  coast,  taken  back  to  England  to  answer  to  the  lords 
of  the  queen's  council,  or  executed  here.  He  chose  the  lat- 
ter, requesting,  it  is  said,  that  he  might  "  once  more  receive 
the  holy  communion  with  the  captain-general  before  his 
death,  and  that  he  might  not  die  other  than  the  death  of  a 
gentleman."  The  circumstances  of  the  execution  are 
striking.  Mr.  Fletcher  celebrated  the  communion  on  the 
next  day.  Drake  received  the  sacrament  with  the  con- 
demned man,  and  afterward  they  dined  together  "  at  the 
same  table,  as  cheerfully  in  sobriety  as  ever  in  their  lives 
they  had  done  ;  and  taking  their  leaves,  by  drinking  to  each 
other,  as  if  some  shojt  journey  only  had  been  in  hand." 
Without  further  delay,  all  things  being  in  readiness,  Doughty 


OPINIONS    OF    CAMDEN    AND    FLETCHER.          77 

walked  forth,  requested  the  bystanders  to  pray  for  him,  and 
submitted  his  neck  to  the  executioner. 

Camden's  version  of  this  transaction  does  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  the  above.  The  chaplain  of  the  fleet,  Mr. 
Francis  Fletcher,  left  a  manuscript  journal  of  the  voyage, 
now  deposited  in  the  British  Museum,  which  contradicts 
many  of  the  important  statements  in  the  other  relations. 
He  asserts  that  the  criminal  utterly  denied  the  truth  of  the 
charges  against  him,  upon  his*  salvation,  at  the  time  of  com- 
municating, and  at  the  hour  and  moment  of  his  death.  Mr. 
Fletcher  likewise  affirms  that  no  choice  of  life  or  death  was 
given  him  upon  any  conditions.  It  is  evident,  that  in  the 
opinion  of  the  chaplain  Doughty  was  an  innocent  and  a 
murdered  man  ;  the  victim  of  a  conspiracy  not  rigidly  sifted 
by  the  general,  and  in  which  the  actors  too  probably  con- 
sulted his  secret  wishes. 

The  fleet  had  not  long  left  England  when  the  affair  of 
the  Portuguese  prisoners,  in  which  there  might  be  dishon- 
our, but  no  crime  deserving  severity  of  punishment,  and  still 
less  death,  was  brought  against  him.  But  in  Port  St.  Ju- 
lian, Fletcher  remarks,  "  more  dangerous  matter  is  laid  to 
his  charge,  and  by  the  same  persons  (John  Brewer,  Ed- 
ward Bright,  and  others  of  their  friends),  namely,  for  words 
spoken  by  him  to  them  in  the  general's  garden*  at  Plymouth, 
which  it  had  been  their  part  and  duty  to  have  discovered 
them  at  the  time,  and  not  have  concealed  them  for  a  time  and 
place  not  so  fitting."  Besides  the  vague  charges  made  of 
plots  and  mutinous  conduct,  and  the  anomalous  offence  of 
being  "  an  emulator  of  the  glory  of  his  commander,"  another 
cause  is  assigned  for  the  death  of  Doughty »  which,  if  it  were 
supported  by  reasonable  proof,  would  fix  a  deeper  stigma  on 
the  character  of  Drake  than  all  his  other  questionable  deeds 
put  together.  In  England  the  age  of  dark  iniquitous  in- 
trigue had  succeeded  the  times  of  ferocity  and  open  vio- 
lence ;  but  the  dependants  and  partisans  of  the  leading  men 
in  the  state  were  still  as  criminally  subservient  to  the  flagi- 
tious designs  of  their  patrons  as  when  their  daggers  had 
been  freely  drawn  in  their  service.  It  was  alleged  that 
Captain  Drake  had  carried  this  man  to  sea  to  rid  the  pow- 
erful Earl  of  Leicester  of  a  dangerous  prater,  and  in  time 
and  place  convenient  to  revenge  his  quarrel. 
G2 


78  CHARACTER    OF    DRAKE. 

It  is  probable  that  the  intimacy  of  Doughty  with  Captain 
Drake  had  commenced  in  Ireland,  as  both  had  served  under 
Essex  ;  and  it  is  uf  firmed  that  the  real  crime  of  the  former 
was  accusing  Leicester  of  plotting  the  secret  murder  of  his 
noble  rival,  of  which  few  men  in  England  believed  him 
wholly  guiltless.  On  the  other  hand,  Essex  was  the  patron 
of  Drake,  who,  it  is  reasonably  urged,  was  thus  much  more 
likely  to  protect  than  punish  a  friend  brought  into  trouble 
for  freedom  of  speech  on  an  occasion  that  would  have 
moved  stocks  or  stones.  It  may  be  further  pleaded  in  be- 
half of  Drake,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  chaplain, 
whose  relation  has  however  every  mark  of  sincerity  and 
good  faith,  no  man  nor  officer  in  the  fleet  has  left  any  re- 
cord or  surmise  of  objection  to  the  justice  of  the  execu- 
tion, though  the  affair,  after  the  return  of  the  expedition, 
"was  keenly  canvassed  in  England.  *  In  his  whole  course  of 
life,  Drake  maintained  the  character  of  integrity  and  hu- 
manity ;  nor  did  he  lark  generosity  in  litti-  He 
at  all  times  discovered  a  strong  sense  of  religion,  and  of 
moral  obligation,  save  in  the  case  of  the  Spaniards  and 
"  Portugals,"  for  which,  however,  u  sea-divinity"  afforded 
an  especial  exception.  That  he  could  have  put  an  innocent 
man  to  death  to  conceal  the  crimes,  or  execute  the  ven- 
geance of  Leicester,  is  too  monstrous  for  belief;  and  that, 
conscious  of  the  deepest  injustice,  he  should  have  gone 
through  the  solemn  religious  observances  which  preceded 
the  perpetration  of  his  crime,  presents  a  picture  of  odious 
hypocrisy  and  cold-blooded  cruelty  more  worthy  of  a  demon 
than  a  brave  man.  The  case  resolves  itself  into  the  simple 
necessity  of  maintaining  discipline  in  the  lleet,  and  sustain- 
in  <r  that  personal  authority  which,  in  a  commander,  is  a 
duty  even  more  important  than  self-preservation.  Drake's 
notions  of  authority  might  have  been  somewhat  over- 
strained ;  nor  is  it  unlikely  that  he  unconsciously  imbibed 
slight  feelings  of  jealousy  of  "  this  emulator  of  his  glory." 
Every  one  who  mentions  Doughty  speaks  of  him  as  a  man 

*  In  an  old  relation  (written  by  himself)  of  the  adventures  of  "  Peter 
Carder,  a  shipwrecked  Seaman,"  belonging  to  Drake's  fleet,  we  find 
that  when,  aller  his  long  detention  and  miraculous  escape  from  the 
savages  and  the  u  Portugals,"  he  returned  to  England,  on  being  examined 
before  the  queen,  and  relating  his  marvellous  haps,  she  questioned  him 
**tf  the  manner  of  Master  Doughty's  execution." 


THE    FLEET    ENTER   MAGELLAN'S    STRAITS.     79 

of  great  endowments.  Mr.  Fletcher  is  warm  in  his  praise. 
"  An  industrious  and  stout  man,"  says  Camden,  even  when 
relating  his  crimes,  and  one,  it  appears,  of  sufficient  con- 
sequence to  be  imagined  the  cause  of  disquiet  to  the  still  all- 
powerful  Leicester. 

Immediately  after  the  execution,  Drake,  who  to  his  other 
qualities  added  the  gift  of  a  bold  natural  eloquence,  addressed 
his  whole  company,  "  persuading  us  to  unity,  obedience, 
love,  and  regard  of  our  voyage ;  and  for  the  better  confirma- 
tion thereof,  wished  every  man  the  next  Sunday  following,  to 
prepare  himself  to  receive  the  communion  as  Christian 
brethren  and  friends  ought  to  do  ;  which  was  done  in  very 
rrverent  sort,  and  so  with  good  contentment  every  man 
went  about  his  business." 

Doubt  and  darkness  will,  however,  always  hang  over  this 
transaction,  though  probably  only  from  the  simple  reason  of 
no  formal  record  being  kept  of  the  proceedings.  Doughty 
was  buried  with  Mr.  Winter  and  the  gunner  on  an  island  in 
the  harbour,  and  the  chaplain  relates  that  he  erected  a  stone, 
and  on  it  cut  the  names  of  these  unfortunate  Englishmen, 
and  the  date  of  .their  burial. 

The  ships,  by  the  breaking  up  of  the  Portuguese  prize, 
were  now  reduced  to  three  ;  and  being  "  trimmed"  and  sup- 
plied with  wood  and  water,  and  such  other  necessaries  as 
could  be  obtained,  they  sailed  from  this  "port  accursed"  on 
the  17th  August.  CJifTe  relates,  that  while  they  lay  here, 
tin1  weather,  though  in  July  and  August,  was  as  cold  as  at 
mid-winter  in  Kn^land.  On  the  20th  they  made  Cape  de 
l;is  Virgines,  entered  the  strait,  and  on  the  24th  anchored 
30  leagues  within  it. 

There  is  a  considerable  variation  in  the  relations  of 
Drake's  passage  of  the  straits.  The  statements  are  even 
absolutely  contradictory  on  some  points,  though  the  dis- 
agreements, when  the  facts  are  sifted,  are  more  apparent 
than  real,  every  narrator  noting  only  what  he  had  himself 
witnessed  or  casually  gathered  from  the  information  of 
others.  The  original  narrative  of  the  passage  by  the  Por- 
tuguese pilots  Nuno  de  Silva,  is  among  the  most  interesting 
and  accurate  ;  but  in  the  present  account  an  attempt  is  made 
to  combine  whatever  appears  most  striking  and  important  in 
the  different  relations.  The  eastern  mouth  of  the  strait 
was  found  about  a  league  broad ;  the  land  bare  and  flat. 


80  PIGMIES    IN    THE    STRAITS. 

On  the  north  side  Indians  were  seen  making  great  fires  ; 
but  on  the  south  no  inhabitants  appeared.  The  length  was 
computed  at  1 10  leagues.  The  tide  was  seen  to  rise  (set- 
tin  jr  in  from  both  sides)  about  fifteen  feet.  It  met  about  the 
middle,  or  rather  nearer  the  western  entrance.  The  me- 
dium breadth  was  one  league.  Where  the  ships  came  to 
anchor  on  the  24th  were  three  small  islands,  on  which  they 
killed  3000  "of  birds  (penguins)  having  no  wings,  but 
short  pinions  which  serve  their  turn  in  swimming."  They 
were  as  "  fat  as  an  English  goose." 

"  The  land  on  both  sides  was  very  huge  and  mountain- 
ous ;  the  lower  mountains  whereof,  although  they  be  very 
monstrous  to  look  upon  for  their  height,  yet  there  are  others 
which  in  height  exceed  them  in  a  strange  manner,  reaching 
themselves  above  their  followers  so  high  that  between  them 
did  appear  three  regions  of  clouds.  These  mountains  are 
covered  with  snow  at  both  the  southerly  and  easterly  parts 
of  the  strait.  There  are  islands  among  which  the  sea  hath 
his  indraught  into  the  straits  even  as  it  hath  at  the  main 
entrance.  Tho  strait  is  extreme  cold,  with  frost  and  snow 
continually.  The  trees  seem  to  stoop  with  the  burden  of 
the  weather,  and  yet  are  green  continually,  and  many  good 
and  sweet  herbs  do  very  plentifully  increase  and  grow  under 
thorn." 

Such  are  the  natural  appearances  described.  Near  the 
western  entrance  a  number  of  narrow  channels,  with  which 
the  whole  of  that  side  abounds,  occasioned  some  difficulty 
in  the  navigation  ;  and  Drake,  with  his  usual  caution, 
brought  the  fleet  to  anchor  near  an  island,  while  he  went 
out  in  his  boat  to  explore  these  various  openings  to  the 
South  Sea.  In  this  expedition  Indians  of  the  pigmy  race, 
attributed  to  a  region  abounding  in  all  monstrous  things, 
were  seen ;  though  both  the  gigantic  and  diminutive  size  . 
of  these  tribes  are  brought  in  question  even  by  contempo- 
rary relations.  Yet  these  pigmy  Indians  were  seen  close 
at  hand,  in  a  canoe  ingeniously  constructed  of  the  bark  of 
trees,  of  which  material  the  people  also  formed  vessels  for 
domestic  use.  The  canoes  were  semicircular,  being  high 
in  the  prow  and  stern.  The  seams  were  secured  by  a 
lacing  of  thongs  of  sealskin,  and  fitted  so  nicely  that  there 
was  little  leakage.  The  tools  of  these  ingenious  small 
folks  were  formed  of  the  shell  of  a  very  large  species  of 


THE    FLEET    ENTERS    THE    SOUTH   SEA.         81 

muscle,  containing  seed-pearls,  which  was  found  in  the 
straits.  These  shells  they  tempered,  if  the  word  may  be 
used,  so  skilfully  that  they  cut  the  hardest  wood,  and  even 
bone.  One  of  their  dwellings,  which  might,  however,  be 
but  a  fishing-hut,  was  seen  rudely  formed  of  sticks  stuck 
in  the  ground,  over  which  skins  were  stretched. 

Early  in  September  the  western  entrance  was  reached ; 
and,  on  the  6th  of  the  same  month,  Drake  attained  the 
long-desired  happiness  of  sailing  an  English  ship  on  the 
South  Sea. 

The  passage  of  Drake  was  the  quickest*  and  easiest  that 
had  yet  been  made,  fortune  favouring  him  here  as  at  every 
other  point  of  this  voyage.  The  temperature  was  also 
much  milder  than  had  been  experienced  by  former  navi- 
gators, or  the  English  seamen  might  probably  be  more  hardy 
and  enduring  than  those  of  Spain. 

One  main  object  of  Drake  in  leaving  England  was  un- 
doubtedly the  discovery  of  a  north-west  passage,  by  follow- 
ing the  bold  and  novel  track  his  genius  chalked  out,  and  in 
which  he  might  still  hope  to  anticipate  all  other  adventurers, 
whether  their  career  commenced  from  the  east  or  the  west. 
On  clearing  the  straits  he  accordingly  held  a  north-west 
course,  and  in  two  days  the  fleet  had  advanced  70  leagues. 
Here  it  was  overtaken  by  a  violent  and  steady  gale  from 
the  north-east,  which  drove  them  into  57°  south  latitude,  and 
200  leagues  to  the  west  of  Magellan's  Straits.  While 
still  driving  before  the  wind  under  bare  poles,  the  moon 
was  eclipsed  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  15th, 
but  produced  neither  abatement  nor  change  of  the  wind. 
"  Neither  did  the  ecliptical  conflict  of  the  moon  improve  our 
state,  nor  her  clearing  again  mend  us  a  whit,  but  the  accus- 
tomed eclipse  of  the  sea  continued  in  his  force,  we  being 
darkened  more  than  the  moon  sevenfold." 

On  the  24th  the  weather  became  more  moderate,  the  wind 
shifted,  and  they  partly  retraced  their  course,  for  seven 
days  standing  to  the  north-east,  during  which  land  was 
seen,  near  which  a  vain  attempt  was  made  to  anchor. 
Their  troubles  did  not  end  here, — once  more  the  wind  got 
back  to  its  old  quarter,  and  with  great  violence  ;  and  on  the 

*  Loppz  Var.  makes  the  time  spent  in  passing  the  straits  only  twelve 
days,  and  it  could  not  be  above  fifteen,  where  months  had  been  occupied 
J>y  less  fortunate  or  skilful  navigators. 


RETURN  OF  CAPTAIN  WINTER. 

30th  the  Marigold  was  separated  from  the  Elizabeth  and 
the  Golden  Hind,  as  Drake  on  entering  the  South  Sea  had 
named  his  ship,  in  compliment  it  is  said  to  his  patron  Sir 
Christopher  Hatton.  They  made  the  land  ;  but  the  Marigold 
was  borne  to  sea  by  the  stress  of  the  gale,  and  was  never 
heard  of  more !  We  do  not  even  find  a  conjecture  breathed 
about  the  fate  of  this  ship.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th 
October  the  Golden  Hind  and  Elizabeth  made  a  bay  near 
the  western  entrance  of  Magellan's  Straits,  which  was 
afterward  named  the  Bay  of  Parting  Friends  ;  and  here 
they  intended  to  lie  by  till  the  weather  improved.  During 
the  night  the  cable  of  the  Hind  broke,  and  she  drove  to  sea ; 
nor  did  Captain  Winter,  in  the  Elizabeth,  make  any  attempt 
to  follow  his  commander.  Heartily  tired  of  a  voyage  of 
which  he  had  just  had  so  unpleasant  a  specimen,  he  next 
day  entered  the  straits,  secretly  purposing  to  return  home. 
Edward  Clifle,  who  sailed  in  the  Elizabeth,  and  whose 
relation  stops  with  her  return  to  England,  stoutly  denies 
for  the  seamen  the  craven  intention  of  abandoning  their 
rosnniandor,  Captain  Drake  ;  and  even  asserts  that  some 
«•;}',  >rts  were  made  to  find  the  admiral's  ship,  though  of  a 
very  passive  kind.  Anchoring  in  a  bay  within  the  straits, 
fires  were  kindled  on  the  shore  ;  so  that,  if  Drake  sought 
them  in  this  direction  and  on  that  day,  there  was  a  chance 
of  his  finding  them.  This  duty  discharged,  they  went  into 
secure  harbourage  in  a  place  which  they  named  Port  Health, 
from  the  rapid  recovery  of  the  crew,  who  had  lately  suffered 
so  much  from  cold,  wet,  and  fatigue.  In  the  large  muscles 
and  other  shellfish  found  here  they  obtained  pleasant  and 
restorative  food  ;  and  remained  till  the  beginning  of  No- 
vember, when  the  voyage  was  formally  abandoned,  "on 
Mr.  Winter's  compulsion,  and  full  sore  against  the  mariners' 
minds."  Winter  alleged  that  he  now  despaired  of  the 
captain-general's  safety,  or  of  being  able  to  hold  his 
course  with  the  Elizabeth  for  the  imagined  Ophir  of  New 
Spain. 

It  was  the  llth  November  before  the  Elizabeth  got  clear 
of  the  straits, — an  eastward  voyage  that  had  only  been 
once  performed,  and  by  a  Spanish  navigator,  Ladrilleros, 
twenty  years  before,  and  believed  to  be  next  to  impossible, 
—and  June  in  the  following  year  before  Winter  returned  to 
England,  with  the  credit  of  having  made  the  passage  of  the 


THE  CREW  OF  THE   SHALLOP.  83 

straits  eastward,  and  the  shame  of  having  deserted  his 
commander,  while  his  company,  with  nobler  spirit,  showed 
unshaken  fidelity  and  unabated  ardour. 

There  is  more  interest  in  following  the  fortunes  of  the 
Hind,  which  we  left  tossed  about  in  the  misnamed  Pacific. 
Drake  was  once  more  carried  back  to  55°  south,  when  he 
judged  it  expedient  to  run  in  among  the  islands  or  broken 
land  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  ;  where,  together  with  a  supply 
of  seals  and  fresh  water,  a  season  of  repose  was  found  from 
the  continual  fatigues  of  the  last  month.  But  this  interval 
of  ease  was  of  short  duration  ;  they  were  once  more  driven 
to  sea  in  a  gale,  and  suffered  the  further  calamity  of  being 
parted  from  the  shallop,  in  which  were  eight  seamen  with 
almost  no  provisions.  While  the  Hind  drove  farther  and 
farther  south,  the  shallop  was  in  the  first  instance  so  far 
fortunate  as  to  regain  the  straits,  where  the  men  salted  and 
stored  penguins  for  future  supply.  .  They  soon  lost  all  hope 
of  rejoining  the  captain-general ;  so,  passing  the  straits, 
they  contrived  to  make,  in  their  frail  bark,  first  for  Port  St. 
Julian,  and  afterward  Rio  de  la  Plata,  where  six  of  them, 
wandering  into  the  woods  in  quest  of  food,  were  attacked 
by  a  party  of  Indians.  All  were  wounded  with  arrows ; 
but,  while  four  were  made  prisoners,  two  escaped,  and 
joined  their  two  comrades  left  in  charge  of  the  boat.  The 
Indians  pursued,  and  the  whole  four  were  wounded  before 
the  natives  were  beaten  back  and  the  shallop  got  off.  The 
Englishmen  made  for  a  small  island  at  three  leagues'  dis- 
tance, where  two  of  their  number  died  of  their  wounds  : — 
nor  was  this  the  last  calamity  they  were  to  endure  ;  the 
shallop  was  dashed  to  pieces  in  a  storm. 

A  melancholy  interest  is  connected  with  this  fragment 
of  Drake's  original  company.  On  the  desolate  island  in 
which  they  remained  for  two  months  no  fresh  water  was 
to  be  found ;  and  though  they  obtained  food  from  eels, 
small  crabs,  and  a  species  of  fruit  resembling  an  orange, 
their  sufferings  from  intense  thirst  came  to  an  extremity 
too  painful  and  revolting  to  be  made  «the  subject  of  narra- 
tive. At  the  end  of  two  months  a  plank  ten  feet  long, 
which  had  drifted  from  Rio  de  la -Plata,  was  picked  up, 
smaller  sticks  were  fastened  to  it,  and  a  store  of  provision 
was  laid  in  ;  then  committing  themselves  to  God,  paddling 
and  clinging  to  this  ark,  they  in  three  days  and  two  nights 


84        DRAKE'S  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

made  the  mainland,  which  had  so  long  tantalized  thrir 
sight.  In  relating  the  issue  of  this  adventure,  the  words 
of  Peter  Carder,  the  survivor,  are  adopted  : — "  At  our  first 
coming  on  land  we  found  a  little  river  of  sweet  and  pleasant 
water,  where  William  Pitcher,  my  only  comfort  and  com- 
panion, although  I  dissuaded  him  to  the  contrary,  overdrank 
himself,  heing  perished  before  with  extreme  thirst ;  and,  to 
my  unspeakable  grief  and  discomfort,  died  half  an  hour 
alt.tT  in  my  presence,  whom  I  buried  as  well  as  I  could  in 
the  sand." 

The  subsequent  adventures  of  Peter  Carder  among  the 
savages  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  his  captivity  among  the 
Portuguese  of  Bahia  de  Todos  los  Santos,  form  an  amus- 
ing and  interesting  section  of  Purchases  Pilgrims.  After  a 
nine  years'  absence  he  pot  back  to  England,  and  had  the 
honour  of  relating  his  adventures  before  Queen  Elizabeth, 
who  presented  him  with  twrnt y-two  anin'l.--,  and  recom- 
mended him  to  her  lord  high  admiral,  Howard. — To  return 
to  Drake.  His  ship,  now  driven  southward  farther  than 
before,  again  ran  in  among  the  islands.  This  is  an  import- 
ant stage  in  the  navigation  of  Drake  as  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery. He  had  reached  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
American  continent,  and  been  driven  round  it ;  for  "  here 
no  land  was  seen,  but  the  Atlantic  and  South  Sea  meeting 
in  a  large  free  scope." 

On  the  28th  October  the  weather,  which  since  the  Gth 
September,  when  they  entered  the  Pacific,  had  been  nearly 
one  continued  hurricane,  became  moderate,  and  the  Golden 
Hind  came  to  anchor  in  twenty  fathoms  water,  though  within 
a  gunshot  of  the  land,  in  a  harbour  of  an  island  of  which  the 
southern  point  has  long  been  known  as  Cape  Horn. 

Sir  Richard  Hawkins,  the  son  of  Sir  John,  and  the  re- 
puted kinsman  of  Admiral  Drake,  relates  that  he  was  in- 
formed by  the  navigator  himself  that  "  at  the  end  of  the  great 
stonn  he  found  himself  in  50°  S.,"*  which  was  sufficient 
proof  that  he  had  been  beaten  round  without  the  strait ; 
and,  moreover,  that  from  the  change  of  tiie  wind  not  being 
able  to  double  the  southernmost  island,  he  anchored  under 
the  lee  of  it,  cast  himself  down  upon  the  extreme  point,  and 

*  The  only  authority  now  to  be  found  makes  the  latitude  50°  S  ;  hut 
it  is  probably  a  mistake  of  the  amanuensis  or  printer,  and  should  be  56°. 


ATTACK    OF    THE    CHILIANS.  85 

reached  over  as  far  as  was  safe  ;  and  after  the  ship  sailed 
told  his  company  that  he  had  been  "  upon  the  southernmost 
point  of  land  in  the  world  known  or  likely  to  be  known,  and 
farther  than  any  man  had  ever  before  ventured." 

Mr.  Fletcher,  the  chaplain,  also  landed  here.  He  found 
this  island  three  parts  of  a  degree  farther  south  than  any  of 
the  other  islands. 

To  ail  the  islands  discovered  here  Drake  gave  the  general 
name  of  the  Elizabethidcs,  in  compliment  to  his  royal  mis- 
tress. They  were  inhabited,  and  the  natives  were  fre- 
quently seen,  though  little  appears  to  have  been  learned  of 
their  character  or  customs. 

Having  thus  discovered  and  landed  on  the  southernmost 
part  of  the  continent,  Drake  changed  tiie  Terra  Incognita 
of  the  Spanish  geographers  into  the  Terra  bene  nunc  Cog- 
nita  of  his  chaplain,  and  on  the  30th  October,  with  a  fair 
wind  from  the  south,  he  held  a  course  north-west ;  but  being 
bent  on  exploring,  afterward  kept  east,  not  to  lose  the  coast. 
On  the  25th  November  they  anchored  at  the  island  of  Mocha, 
off  the  coast  of  Chili,  where  the  captain-general  landed. 
Cattle  and  sheep  were  seen  here,  and  also  maize  and  pota- 
toes. Presents  were  exchanged  with  the  Indians,  and  next 
day  a  watering  party,  which  Drake  accompanied,  rowed  to- 
wards the  shore,  in  full  security  of  their  pacific  dispositions. 
Two  seamen  who  landed  to  fill  the  water-casks  were  in- 
stantly killed,  and  the  rest  of  the  party  narrowly  escaped  an 
ambush  laid  for  them  in  case  they  should  come  to  the  assist- 
ance of  their  countrymen.  They  were  fiercely  assailed 
with  arrows  and  stones,  and  every  one  was  wounded  more 
or  less  severely.  The  general  was  wounded  both  in  the 
face  and  on  the  head,  and  the  attack  was  continued  so 
warmly  and  close  that  the  Indians  seized  four  of  the  oars. 
This  unprovoked  attack  was  imputed  by  the  ship's  company 
to  the  hatred  which  the  inhabitants  of  Chili  bore  the  Span- 
iards, whom,  it  was  presumed,  they  had  not  yet  learned  to 
distinguish  from  other  Europeans.  In  this  view  it  was  for- 
given by  men  whose  prejudices  and  animosity  were  equally 
strong  with  those  of  the  Indians. 

Sailing  along  the  coast,  with  the  wind  at  south,  on  the 
30th  November  they  anchored  in  a  bay  about  32°  S.,  and 
sent  out  a  boat  to  examine  the  shores,  which  captured  and 
brought  before  the  captain  an  Indian  found  fishing  in  his 


86      CAPTURE  OF  THE  GRAND  CAPTAIN. 

canoe.  This  man  was  kindly  treated.  A  present  of  linen 
and  a  chopping-knife  gained  his  affections,  and  he  bore  the 
message  of  Drake  to  his  countrymen,  .who,  induced  by  the 
hope  of  like  gifts,  brought  to  the  ship's  side  a  fat  hog  and 
poultry.  It  was  at  this  time  of  more  consequence  to  one 
main  object  of  the  voyagers,  who,  doing  much  for  the  glory 
of  England  and  Elizabeth,  wished  at  the  same  time  to  do  a 
little  for  themselves,  that  an  intelligent  Indian  repaired  to 
the  ship  who  spoke  the  Spanish  language,  and,  believing 
them  mariners  of  that  nation,  unwittingly  gave  them  much 
valuable  information.  From  him  they  learned  that  they  had 
by  six  leagues  oversailed  Valparaiso,  the  port  of  St.  Jago, 
where  a  Spanish  vessel  then  lay  at  anchor.  The  innocent 
offer  of  Felipe,  when  he  saw  their  disappointment,  to  pilot 
them  back  was  eagerly  accepted.  On  the  4th  December 
they  sailed  from  Philip's  Bay,  as  they  named  this  harbour 
in  honour  of  their  Indian  pilot,  and  next  day,  without  any 
difficulty,  captured  the  ship,  the  Grand  Captain  of  the  South 
Se.is,  in  which  were  found  60,000  pesos  of  gold,  besides  jew- 
els, merchandise,  and  1770  jars  of  Chili  wine.  This  was  a 
joyful  beginning  ;  each  peso  was  reckoned  worth  eight  shil- 
lings. The  people  of  the  town,  which  consisted  of  only 
nine  families,  fled ;  and  Drake's  followers  revelled  in  the 
unforbidden  luxury  of  a  general  pillage  of  wine,  bread, 
bacon,  and  other  things  most  acceptable  to  men  who  had 
been  so  long  at  sea,  both  for  present  refreshment  and  also 
for  storing  the  ship.  In  every  new  Spanish  settlement, 
however  small,  a  church  rose  as  it  were  simultaneously. 
The  small  chapel  of  Valparaiso  was  plundered  of  a  silver 
chalice,  two  cruets,  and  its  altar-cloth,  which,  to  prevent 
their  desecration  and  to  obtain  a  blessing  on  the  voyage, 
were  presented  to  Fletcher,  the  pastor  of  this  ocean-flock. 
They  sailed  on  the  8th  with  their  prize,  taking,  however, 
only  one  of  the  crew,  a  Greek  named  Juan  Griego,  who  was 
capable  of  piloting  them  to  Lima.  Their  Indian  guide  Fe- 
lipe was  rewarded,  and  sent  on  shore  near  his  own  home. 
From  the  most  southern  point  of  this  coasting  voyage  Drake 
had  been  continually  on  the  outlook  for  the  Marigold  and 
Elizabeth ;  and  the  Hind  being  too  unwieldy  to  keep  in 
near  the  coast  in  the  search,  a  pinnace  was  intended  to  be 
built  for  this  duty  as  well  as  for  other  operations  which  the 
captain-general  kept  in  view.  A  convenient  place  for  this 


CAPTURE    OF    TREASURE.  87 

purpose  had  been  found  at  Coquimbo.  Near  the  spot  se- 
lected the  Spaniards  had  raised  or  collected  a  considerable 
force  ;  and  a  watering-party  of  fourteen  of  the  English  was 
here  surprised,  and  with  some  difficulty  escaped  from  a  body 
of  300  horse  and  200  foot.  One  seaman  was  killed,  owing, 
however,  to  his  own  braggart  temerity. 

In  a  quieter  and  safer  bay  the  pinnace  was  set  up,  and 
Drake  himself  embarked  in  it  to  look  after  the  strayed  ships  ; 
but  the  wind  becoming  adverse  he  soon  returned.  They 
quitted  this  harbour  on  the  19th  January,  1579,  invigorated 
by  a  season  of  repose,  by  the  refreshments  and  booty  ob- 
tained, and  by  the  hopes  of  richer  plunder  and  more  glorious 
conquest.  With  few  adventures  they  sailed  along  the  coast, 
till  accidentally  landing  at  Tarapaza  they  found  a  Spaniard 
asleep  on  the  shore,  with  thirteen  bars  of  silver  lying  beside 
him,  as  if  waiting  their  arrival.  Advancing  a  little  farther, 
on  landing  to  procure  water,  they  fell  in  with  a  Spaniard 
and  an  Indian  boy  driving  eight  lamas,  each  of  which  was 
laden  with  two  leathern  bags  containing  501bs.  of  silver,  or 
SOOlbs.  in  all.  The  lamas,  or  Peruvian  sheep,  are  described 
by  the  old  voyagers  as  of  the  size  of  an  ass,  with  a  neck 
like  a  camel,  and  of  great  strength  and  steadiness,  forming 
the  beast  of  burden  of  these  countries.  They  were  indeed 
the  mules  of  the  New  World,  but  a  much  more  valuable  ani- 
mal, as  the  wool  is  fine  and  the  flesh  good.  The  credulity 
of  the  most  credulous  of  the  family  of  John  Bull — his  sons 
of  the  ocean — was  here  amusingly  displayed.  If  the  coast 
of  Peru  was  not  literally  strewed  with  gold,  pure  silver  was 
found  so  richly  mixed  with  the  soil  that  every  hundred-weight 
of  common  earth  yielded,  on  a  moderate  calculation,  five 
ounces. 

The  eight  lamas  and  their  precious  burden  being  brought 
on  board,  the  Golden  Hind  next  entered  the  port  of  Arica, 
where  two  or  three  small  barks  then  lay.  These,  when 
rifled,  were  found  perfectly  unprotected,  the  crews  being  on 
shore,  unable  to  imagine  danger  on  this  coast.  Arica  is 
described  as  a  beautiful  and  fertile  valley.  The  town  con- 
tained about  twenty  houses,  which,  the  Famous  Voyage 
states,  "  we  would  have  ransacked  if  our  company  had  been 
better  and  more  numerous ;  but  our  general,  contented  with 
the  spoil  of  the  ships,  put  to  sea,  and  sailed  for  Lima"  in 
pursuit  of  a  vessel  very  richly  laden,  of  which  they  had  ob- 


88  THE    CACAFTJEGO. 

tained  intelligence.  The  ship,  of  which  they  were  now  in 
hot  pursuit,  got  notice  of  her  danger  in  time  to  land  the 
treasure  with  which  she  was  freighted, — eight  hundred  bars 
of  silver,  the  property  of  the  King  of  Spain.  Drake,  now 
preparing  for  active  measures,  rid  himself  of  every  encum- 
brance by  setting  all  the  sails  of  his  prizes,  and  turning 
them  adrift  whithersoever  the  winds  might  carry  them.  The 
arrival  of  these  tenantless  barks  on  some  wild  coast  or 
lonely  island  may  yet  form  the  theme  of  Indian  tradition, 
though  more  probably  they  must  all  have  been  dashed  to 
piece*. 

Tidings  of  the  English  being  upon  the  coast  had  by  this 
time  been  despatched  overland  to  the  governor  at  Lima  ;  but 
the  difficulty  of  travelling  in  these  still  tangled  and  trackless 
regions  enabled  Drake  to  outstrip  the  messenger,  and  on 
the  13th  September  to  surprise  the  Spanish  ships  lying  in 
Callao,  the  port  of  Lima.  The  spoil  was  trifling  for  the 
number  of  vessels.  In  boarding  a  ship  from  Panama,  which 
v/as  just  thon  entering  the  port,  an  Englishman  was  killed. 
Another  account  says  he  was  shot  from  a  boat  while  pur- 
suing the  crew,  who  were  abandoning  the  vessel.  In  one 
ship  a  chest  of  ryals  of  plate  and  a  considerable  store  of 
linens,  silks,  and  general  merchandise  were  obtained.  From 
the  prisoners  Drake  learned  that  ten  days  before  (Lopez  YHZ 
makes  it  but  three)  the  Cacafuego,  laden  with  treasure,  had 
sailed  for  Panama,  the  point  from  whence  all  goods  were 
carried  across  the  isthmus.  This  information  at  once  de- 
termined the  course  of  our  navigator ;  and  as  ships  from 
Callao  to  Panama  were  in  the  habit  of  touching  at  interme- 
diate places,  he  reckoned  the  Cacafuego  already  his  prize. 
As  a  measure  of  precaution  the  mainmasts  of  the  two  largest 
prizes  found  here  were  cut  away,  the  cables  of  the  smaller 
ones  were  severed,  and,  the  goods  and  people  being  pre- 
viously removed,  the  whole  were  abandoned  to  the  mercy 
of  the  winds  and  waves  ;  while  Drake  bore  northward  in  full 
sail,  or  when  the  wind  slackened  was  towed  on  by  the 
boats,  each  man  straining  to  reach  the  golden  goal.  But 
this  rather  anticipates  the  course  of  the  narrative. 

When  intelligence  of  Drake's  ship  at  last  reached  Lima, 
it  was  presumed  some  of  the  Spanish  crows  had  mutinied, 
and  that  the  Golden  Hind  was  a  Spanish  vessel  turned  pi- 
rate, so  little  was  an  attack  by  the  English  on  this  side  of 


MEASURES    OF    THE    VICEROY.  89 

the  continent  deemed  possible,  or  that  the  ships  of  any  na- 
tion save  Spain  could  pass  the  intricate  and  fatal  Straits  of 
Magellan.  On  being  apprized  of  the  real  fact  and  of  the 
danger  impending,  Don  Francisco  de  Toledo,  the  viceroy  at 
Lima,  immediately  repaired  to  the  port  with  a  force  esti- 
mated by  Lopez  Vaz  at  2000  horse  and  foot.  The  Golden 
Hind  still  remained  in  sight  of  the  port,  and  nearly  becalmed. 
Two  vessels,  in  each  of  which  200  righting  men  were  em- 
barked, were  equipped  in  all  haste,  and  the  capture  of  Drake, 
the  pirate-heretic,  was  already  confidently  reckoned  upon. 
At  the  same  hour  in  which  they  left  the  port  to  make  the 
attack  a  fresh  gale  sprung  up,  and  the  English  ship  pressed 
onward.  The  flight  and  pursuit  were  continued  for  some 
time,  as  it  was  not  the  policy  of  Drake,  with  his  very  infe- 
rior force,  to  risk  an  action.  By  an  oversight,  most  for- 
tunate for  the  English,  the  Spaniards,  in  their  eagerness 
and  confidence  of  an  easy  conquest,  had  neglected  to  take 
provisions  on  board.  Famine  compelled  them  to  abandon 
the  pursuit,  but  Don  Francisco  lost  no  time  in  remedying 
this  inadvertence.  A  force  of  three  ships,  fully  equipped, 
was  despatched  under  the  command  of  Pedro  Sanniento  de 
Gamboa,  but  arrived  too  late.  The  same  commander  after- 
ward long  watched,  and  waited  in  vain,  the  return  of  Drake 
by  the  straits.  On  his  recommendation  they  were  after- 
ward fortified  and  a  colony  planted, — an  abortive  attempt 
which  cost  Spain  much  treasure  and  many  lives. 

Near  Payti  a  small  vessel,  in  which  s^me  silver  ornaments 
were  found,  was  rifled  and  dismissed ;  'and  on  passing  Payti, 
from  the  crew  of  a  vessel  which  was  searched  they  learned 
that  the  Cacafuego  had  the  start  of  them  now  only  by  two 
days.  Every  nerve  was  fresh-braced  for  pursuit ;  but  the 
future  advantage  hoped  for  did  not  lead  them  in  the  mean 
time  to  despise  present  small  gains.  Two  more  vessels 
were  intercepted,  rifled,  and  turned  adrift,  the  crews  being 
first  landed.  In  one  of  these  some  silver  and  SOlbs.  of  gold 
were  found,  and  a  golden  crucifix,  in  which  was  set  "  a 
goodly  and  great  emerald."  They  also  found  a  good  sup- 
ply of  useful  stores  and  a  large  quantity  of  cordage,  which 
made  most  part  of  the  cargo.  On  the  24th  February  they 
crossed  the  line,  the  Cacafuego  still  ahead  and  unseen  ;  and 
Drake,  to  animate  the  hopes  and  quicken  the  vigilance  of 
his  company,  offered  as  a  reward  to  whoever  should  first 
H2 


90       CAPTURE  OF  THE  CACAFUEGO. 

descry  the  prize  the  goH  chain  which  he  usually  wore.  The 
reward  was  gniin-d  by  Mr.  John  Drake,  who  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  March,  from  the  mast-head, 
discerned  the  prize,  which  hy  six  o'clock  was  boarded  and 
taken.  This  capture  was  made  off  Cape  Francisco.  The 
captain,  a  Biscayan  named  Juan  de  Anton,  was  so  little 
aware  of  his  danger,  that  seeing  a  vessel  coming  up  to  him 
under  a  press  of  sail,  he  concluded  that  the  viceroy  had  sent 
some  important  message,  and  struck  his  sails  to  await  the 
approach  of  the  Golden  Hind.  When  aware  from  closer 
inspection  of  his  mistake,  he  tried  to  escape;  but  he  was 
already  within  reach  of  Drake's  guns,  and  possessed  no 
defensive  weapons  of  any  kind.  Yet,  with  the  brave  spirit 
of  his  province,  the  Biscayan  refused  to  strike  till  his  miz- 
zenmast  was  shot  away  and  he  himself  wounded  by  an 
arrow. 

This  ship  proved  to  be  a  prize  worth  gaining.  It  con- 
tained 26  ions  of  silver,  13  chests  of  ryals  of  plate,  and  80 
Ibs.  of  gold,  besides  diamonds  and  inferior  gems, — the 
whole  eslimateil  at  360,000  pesos. 

Among  the  spoils  were  two  very  handsome  silver  gilt 
bowls  belon'vmjT  to  the  pilot,  of  which  Drake  demanded 
one  ;  which  the  doughty  Spaniard  surrendering,  presented 
the  other  to  the  steward,  as  if  he  disdained  to  hold  any 
thing  by  the  favour  of  the  English.  The  "  Famous  Voyage" 
records  some  capital  salt-water  jests  made  on  this  occasion 
at  the  expense  of  the  Spaniards.  It  must  be  owned  that 
the  laugh  was  wholly  on  the  side  of  the  English. 

Had  Drake,  thus  richly  laden,  now  been  assured  of  a  safe 
and  an  easy  passage  to  England,  it  is  probable  that  the 
Golden  Hind  might  not  on  this  voyage  have  encompassed 
the  globe.  The  advanced  season,  however,  and  the  out- 
look which  he  was  aware  the  Spaniards  would  keep  for  his 
'return,  forbade  the  attempt  of  repassing  the  straits  ;  while 
the  glory  of  discovery,  and  the  hope  of  taking  his  immense 
treasure  safely  to  England,  determined  him  in  the  resolu- 
tion of  seeking  a  north-west  passage  homeward.  Though 
not  in  general  communicative,  his  plans  were  no  sooner 
formed  than  he  unfolded  them  to  the  ship's  company,  with 
the  persuasive  eloquence  of  a  man  eminently  fitted  for  com- 
mand. The  crew  were  now  in  high  spirits,  and  full  of  con- 
fidence in  their  skilful,  bold,  and  ^successful  leader.  His 


PLUNDER   OF    GUATALCO.  91 

counsel,  which  carried  all  the  weight  of  command,  was  "  to 
seek  out  some  convenient  place  to  trim  the  ship,  and  store 
it  with  wood,  water,  and  such  provisions  as  could  be  found, 
and  thenceforward  to  hasten  our  intended  journey  for  the 
discovery  of  the  said  passivje,  through  which  we  might 
with  joy  return  to  our  longed  homes." 

With  this  resolution  they  steered  for  Nicaragua,  and  on 
the  16th  March  anchored  in  a.  small  bay  of  the  island  of 
Canno,  which  proved  a  good  station  to  water  and  refit.  The 
pinnace  was  once  more  on  active  duty,  and  a  prize  was 
brought  in  laden  with  honey,  butter,  sarsaparilla,  and  other 
commodities.  Among  the  papers  of  the  prize  were  letters 
from  the  King  of  Spain  to  the  governor  of  the  Philippines, 
and  sea-charts,  which  afterward  proved  of  use  to  the  I 
lish.  While  Drake  lay  here  a  violent  shock  of  an  earth- 
quake was  felt.  From  Canno  they  sailed  on  the  24th 
March,  the  captain-general  never  loitering  in  any  port  be- 
yond the  time  absolutely  necessary  to  repair  the  ship  and 
take  in  water.  On  the  6th  April  they  made  another  valua- 
ble prize.  Being  already  well  supplied  with  stores,  their 
choice  was  become  more  nice  and  difficult ;  and  selecting 
only  silks,  linen,  delicate  porcelain,  and  a  falcon  of  finely- 
wrought  gold,  in  the  breast  of  which  a  large  emerald  was 
set,  the  vessel  was  dismissed,  and  of  her  crew  only  a  negro 
and  the  pilot  detained,  who  steered  them  into  the  harbour  of 
Guatalco.  Landing,  according  to  their  approved  good  prac- 
tice, to  ransack  the  town,  it  is  related  in  the  Famous 
Voyage  that  they  surprised  a  council  then  holding  on  cer- 
tain negroes*  accused  of  a  plot  to  burn  the  place.  To  their 
mutual  astonishment,  judges  and  culprits  were  hurried  on 
board  in  company,  and  the  chief  men  were  compelled  to 
write  to  the  townspeople  to  make  no  resistance  to  the 
English.  The  only  plunder  found  in  ransacking  this  small 
place,  in  which  there  were  but  fourteen  persons  belonging 
to  Old  Spain,  consisted  of  about  a  bushel  of  ryals  of  plate. 
One  of  the  party,  Mr.  John  Winter,  seeing  a  Spaniard 
taking  flight,  pursued  and  took  from  the  fugitive  a  chain  of 
gold  and  some  jewels.  This  is  related  \*ith  great  exulta- 
tion, as  a  feat  of  peculiar  dexterity  and  merit.  All  the 

*  Probably  Indians,  the  name  Negro  or  Indian  being  used  indiscrimi- 
nately by  the  early  voyagers. 


92  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    CALIFORNIANS. 

Spaniards  on  board  the  Golden  Hind  were  now  set  at  lib 
orty.  The  Portuguese  pilot,  Nuno  Silva,  who  had  been 
brought  from  the  Cnpe  de  Verd  Islands,  was  also  dismissed, 
uiul  probably  at  this  place  wrote  the  relation  of  the  voyage 
from  which  quotations  have  been  made  in  this  memoir. 
Silva's  account  was  sent  to  the  Portuguese  viceroy  in  India, 
and  long  afterward  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

Satiated  with  plunder  on  sea  and  shore,  Drake,  on  the 
16th  April,  sailed  on  that  bold  project  of  discovery  formerly 
communicated  to  his  company,  and  by  the  3d  of  June  had 
gone  over  1400  leagues,  in  different  courses,  without  see- 
ing land.  They  had  now  reached  43°  north,  the  cold  was 
become  very  severe,  and,  in  advancing  two  or  three  degrees 
farther,  so  intense,  that  meat  froze  the  instant  it  was  removed 
from  the  fire,  and  the  ropes  and  tackling  of  the  ship  became 
rigid  from  the  influence  of  the  frost.  On  the  5th,  being 
driven  in  by  the  winds,  land  was  seen,  and  they  anchored 
in  a  small  bay,  too  unsheltered,  however,  to  permit  of  their 
remaining.  Drake  had  not  expected  to  find  the  coast 
stretching  so  far  westward.  The  wind  was  now  become 
adverse  to  holding  a  northerly  course,  although  the  extreme 
cold,  and  the  chill,  raw,  unwholesome  fogs  which  sur- 
rounded them  had  made  such  a  track  desirable.  The  land 
seen  here  was  in  general  low  ;  but  wherever  a  height  ap- 
peared it  was  founcl  covered  with  snow,  though  now  almost 
midsummer.  The  land  seen  was  the  western  coast  of  Cali- 
fornia. On  the  17th  June  they  anchored  in  a  good  har- 
bour, on  an  inhabited  coast.  As  the  Hind  drew  near  the 
shore  the  natives  approached,  and  an  ambassador  or  spokes- 
man put  off  in  a  canoe,  who  made  a  formal  harangue,  ac- 
companied with  much  gesticulation.  When  the  oration 
was  concluded,  he  made  a  profound  obeisance  and  retired 
to  the  land.  A  second  and  a  third  time  he  returned  in  the 
same  manner,  bringing,  as  a  gift  or  tribute,  a  bunch  of 
feathers  neatly  trimmed  and  stuck  together,  and  a  basket 
made  of  rushes.  Of  these  rushes  it  was  afterward  found 
that  the  natives  fabricated  several  useful  and  pretty  things. 
The  females,  though  the  men  were  entirely  naked,  wore  a 
sort  of  petticoat  composed  of  rushes,  previously  stripped 
into  long  threads  resembling  hemp.  They  also  wore  deer- 
skins round  their  shoulders  ;  and  some  of  the  men  occa- 
sionally used  furs  as  a  covering.  It  was  remarked,  that  the 


THEIR    SINGULAR    MANNERS.  93 

Indians  appeared  as  sensible  to  the  extreme  severity  of  the 
weather  as  the  English  seamen, — cowering,  shivering,  and 
keeping  huddled  together,  even  when  wrapped  up  in  their 
furs.  The  hasket  brought  by  the  Indian  ambassador  or 
orator  was  filled  with  an  herb  which,  in  some  of  the  original 
relations  of  the  voyage  is  called  tabah,  the  native  name,  and 
in  others  tobacco.  The  Indian  was  either  afraid  or  unwil- 
ling to  accept  of  any  present  from  the  English  in  return  for 
this  simple  tribute,  but  picked  up  a  hat  which  was  sent 
afloat  towards  him.  The  kindness  of  Drake  ultimately 
gained  the  confidence  of  these  people. 

The  ship  had  some  time  before  sprung  a  leak,  and  it  was 
here  found  necessary  to  land  the  goods  and  stores  that  she 
might  be  repaired.  On  the  21st  this  was  done,  though  the 
natives  appeared  to  view  the  movement  with  suspicion  and 
dissatisfaction.  They,  however,  laid  aside  their  bows  and 
arrows  when  requested  to  do  so,  and  an  exchange  of 
presents  further  cemented  the  growing  friendship.  They 
retired  apparently  satisfied  ;  but  had  no  sooner  reached 
their  huts,  which  stood  at  a  considerable  distance,  than  a 
general  howling  and  lamentation  commenced,  which  lasted 
all  night.  The  females  especially  continued  shrieking  in  a 
wild  and  doleful  manner,  which,  if  not  absolutely  appalling 
to  the  English,  was  yet  to  the  last  degree  painful.  Drake, 
whose  presence  of  mind  never  forsook  him,  and  who  was 
seldom  lulled  into  false  security  by  appearances  of  friend- 
ship, mistrusting  the  state  of  excitement  into  which  the 
Indians  were  raised,  took  the  precaution  of  intrenching  the 
tents,  into  which  the  goods  and  the  crew  had  been  removed 
while  the  repairs  of  the  ship  were  in  progress.  For  the 
two  days  following  "  the  night  of  lamentation"  no  na.tive 
appeared.  At  the  end  of  that  time  a  great  number  seemed  to 
have  joined  the  party  first  seen ;  and  the  whole  assembled  on 
a  height  overlooking  the  fortified  station  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany, and  appeared  desirous  of  approaching  the  stran<:<Ts. 
The  ceremonies  were  opened  by  an  orator  or  herald  making 
a  long  speech  or  proclamation,  with  which  the  audience 
were  understood  to  express  assent  by  bowing  their  bodies 
at  the  conclusion,  and  groaning  in  chorus — oh  !  or  oh  !  oh  ! 
After  this  friendly  demonstration,  for  as  such  it  was  in- 
tended, a  deputation  of  the  assembly  stuck  their  bows  into 
the  earth,  and,  bearing  gifts  of  feathers  and  rush  baskets 


94  CEREMONIAL    OF    THE    NATIVES. 

with  talah,  descended  towards  the  fort.  While  this  was 
passing  below,  the  women,  mixed  with  the  group  on  the 
height,  began  to  shriek  and  howl  as  on  the  "  night  of  lam- 
entation," to  tear  their  flesh  with  their  nails,  and  dash 
themselves  on  the  gjound,  till  the  blood  sprung  from  their 
bodies.  This  is  said,  in  the  Famous  Voyage,  to  have  been 
part  of  the  orgies  of  their  idol  or  demon  worship.  Drake, 
it  is  said,  struck  with  grief  and  horror,  and  probably  not 
without  a  tincture  of  superstition,  ordered  divine  service  to 
be  solemnized.  The  natives  sat  silent  and  attentive,  at 
proper  pauses  breathing  their  expressive  "  oh  /"  in  token  of 
assent  or  approbation.  With  the  psalms,  sung  probably  to 
one  of  the  simple  solemn  chants  of  the  old  church,  they 
appeared  affected  and  charmed ;  and  they  repeatedly  after- 
ward requested  their  visitors  to  sing.  On  taking  leave 
they  declined  the  gifts  tendered,  either  from  superstitious 
dread,  or  as  probably  on  the  same  principle  which  makes  a 
clown  at  a  fair  afraid  to  accept  the  tempting  shilling  offered 
by  a  recruiting  sergeant, — from  no  dislike  to  the  coin,  or 
reluctance  to  drink  the  king's  health,  but  from  great  distrust 
of  the  motives  of  the  giver.  The  voyagers,  with  amusing 
self-complaisance,  ascribe  this  fear  or  delicacy  to  the  deep 
veneration  of  the  natives,  and  to  their  thinking  "  themselves 
sufficiently  enriched  and  happy  that  they  had  free  access  to 
see  us." 

The  Indians  here  managed  their  foreign  relations  with 
ceremonial  that  might  have  sufficed  for  more  refined  socie- 
ties. The  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  English  having  spread, 
on  the  26th  two  heralds  or  pursuivants  arrived  at  head- 
quarters, craving  an  audience  of  the  captain-general  on  the 
part  of  their  hioh  or  king.  The  precursor  of  majesty  ha- 
rangued a  full  half-hour,  his  associate  dictating  to,  or 
prompting  him,  and  concluded  by  demanding  tokens  of 
friendship  and  safe  conduct  for  the  chief.  These  were 
cheerfully  given. 

The  approach  of  the  hioh  was  well  arranged,  and  impos- 
ing in  effect.  First  came  the  sceptre  or  mace-bearer  as  he 
is  called,  though  club-bearer  would  be  the  more  correct 
phrase.  This  officer  was  a  tall  and  handsome  man,  of 
noble  presence.  His  staff  or  club  of  office  was  about  five 
feet  in  length,  and  made  of  a  dark  wood.  To  this  were 
attached  two  pieces  of  iict-work  or  chain-work,  curiously 


PROCESSION   OF    THE    NATIVES.  95 

and  delicately  wrought,  of  a  bony  substance,  minute,  thin, 
and  burnished  ;  and  consisting  of  innumerable  links.  He 
had  also  a  basket  of  tabah.  These  net-cauls  or  chains  were 
supposed  to  be  insignia  of  personal  rank  and  dignity,  akin 
to  the  crosses,  stars,  and  ribands  of  civilized  nations,— 
the  number  of  them  worn  denoting  the  degree  of  conse- 
quence, as  the  importance  of  a  pasha  is  signified  by  the 
number  of  his  tails.  The  king  followed  his  minister,  and 
in  his  turn  was  succeeded  by  a  man  of  tall  stature,  with  an 
air  of  natural  grandeur  and  majesty  which  struck  the  Eng- 
lish visiters.  The  royal  guard  came  next  in  order.  It  was 
formed  of  100  picked  men,  tall  and  martial-looking,  and 
clothed  in  skins.  Some  of  them  wore  ornamental  head- 
dresses made  of  feathers,  or  of  a  feathery  down  which 
grew  upon  a  plant  of  the  country.  The  king  wore  about 
his  shoulders  a  robe  made  of  the  skins  of  the  species 
of  marmot  afterward  described.  Next  in  place  in  this 
national  procession  came  the  common  people,  every  one 
painted,  though  in  a  variety  of  patterns,  and  with  feathers 
stuck  in  the  club  of  hair  drawn  up  at  the  crown  of  their 
heads.  The  women  and  children  brought  up  the  rear, 
carrying  each,  as  a  propitiatory  gift,  a  basket,  in  which  was 
either  tabah,  broiled  fish,  or  a  root  that  the  natives  ate  both 
raw  and  baked. 

Drake,  seeing  them  so  numerous,  drew  up  his  men  in 
order,  and  under  arms,  within  his  fortification  or  block- 
house. At  a  few  paces'  distance  the  procession  halted, 
and  deep  silence  was  observed,  while  the  sceptre-bearer, 
prompted  as  before  by  another  official,  harangued  for  a  full 
half-hour.  His  eloquent  address,  whatever  it  might  im- 
port, receiving  the  concurrent  "  oh  /"  of  the  national  assem- 
bly, the  same  orator  commenced  a  song  or  chant,  keeping 
time  in  a  slow,  solemn  dance,  performed  with  a  stately  air, 
the  king  and  all  the  warriors  joining  both  in  the  measure 
and  the  chorus.  The  females  also  moved  in  the  dance,  but 
silently.  Drake  could  no  longer  doubt  of  their  amicable 
feelings  and  peaceful  intentions.  They  were  admitted,  still 
singing  and  moving  in  a  choral  dance,  within  the  fort.  The 
orations  and  songs  were  renewed  and  prolonged ;  and  the 
chief,  placing  one  of  his  crowns  upon  the  head  of  the  cap- 
tain-general, and  investing  him  with  the  other  imagined 
insignia  of  royalty,  courteously  tendered  him  his  whole 


96  AFFECTION    FOR    THE    ENGLISH. 

dominions,  and  hailed  him  king  !  Songs  of  triumph  were 
raised,  as  if  in  confirmation  of  this  solemn  cession  of  terri- 
tory :  :_Mitv.  Such  is  the  interpretation  which  the 
old  voyagers  put  upon  a  ceremony  that  has  been  more  ra- 
tionally conjectured  to  resemble  the  interchange  or  exchange 
of  names,  which  in  the  South  Sea  islands  seals  the  bonds 
of  friendship  ;  or  as  something  equivalent  to  a  European 
host  t  filing  his  visiter  that  he  is  master  of  the  house. 
"  The  admiral,"  it  is  shrewdly  observed,  "  accepted  of  this 
new-offered  dignity  in  her  majesty's  name,  and  for  her  use  ; 
it  being  probable  that,  from  this  donation,  whether  made  in 
jest  or  earnest  by  these  Indians,  some  real  advantage 
i night  hereafter  redound  to  the  English  nation  and  interest 
in  these  parts."  We  are  expressly  informed  that  the  natives 
afurv.  anl  actually  worshipped  their  guests;  and  that  it 
;«)  check  their  idolatrous  homage.  They 
roamed  about  ainoiiu  the  tents,  admirinir  all  they  saw,  and 
expressing  attachment  to  the  English  in  their  own  peculiar 
ion,  It  was  for  the  youngest  of  the  company  these 
fond  imliibed.  To  express  affection,  the  Indians 
surrounded  and  gazed  upon  them,  and  then  began  to  howl 
and  tear  their  llesh  till  they  streamed  in  their  own  blood,  to 
demonstrate  the  liveliness  and  strength  of  their  affection. 
The  same  unnatural  and  uncouth  shows  of  regard  con- 
tinued to  be  made  while  the  English  remained  on  the 
coast ;  and  obeisances  and  homage  were  rendered,  which, 
being  considered  as  approaching  to  sacrifice  or  worship, 
were  strenuously  and  piously  disclaimed.  These  people 
are  described  as  an  amiable  race  ;  of  a  free,  tractable, 
kindly  nature,  without  guile  or  treachery.  To  mark  their 
esteem  of  the  English,  and  confidence  in  their  skill  and  su- 
periority, it  may  be  noticed  that  they  applied  for  medica- 
ments for  their  wrounds  and  sores. 

The  men,  as  has  been  noticed,  were  generally  naked  ;  but 
the  women,  besides  the  short  petticoat  woven  of  peeled  bul- 
rushes, wore  deer  skins,  with  the  hair  on,  round  their  shoul- 
ders. They  were  remarked  to  be  good  wives, — very  obedient 
and  serviceable  to  their  husbands.  The  men  w  ere  so  robust 
and  powerful  that  a  burden  which  could  hardly  be  borne  by 
two  of  the  seamen,  a  single  native  would  with  ease  carry 
up  and  down  hill  for  a  mile  together.  Their  weapons  were 
bows  and  arrows,  but  of  a  feeble,  useless  kind.  Their 


DRAKE    LEAVES  THE    COAST.  97 

dwellings  were  constructed  in  a  round  form,  built  of  earth, 
and  roofed  with  pieces  of  wood  joined  together  at  a  com- 
mon centre,  somewhat  in  form  of  a  spire.  Being  partly 
under  ground,  they  were  close  and  warm.  The  lire  was 
placed  in  the  middle,  and  beds  of  rushes  were  spread  on 
the  floor. 

Before  sailing,  Drake  made  an  excursion  into  the  interior. 
Immense  herds  of  deer  were  seen,  large  and  fat ;  and  the 
country  seemed  one  immense  warren  of  a  species  of  cony 
of  the  size  of  a  Barbary  rat,  "  their  heads  and  faces  like 
rabbits  in  England  ;  their  paws  like  a  mole,  their  tails  like 
a  rat.  Under  their  chin  on  each  side  was  a  pouch,  into 
which  they  gathered  meat  to  feed  their  young,  or  serve 
themselves  another  time."  The  natives  ate  the  flesh  of 
those  animals,  and  greatly  prized  their  skins,  of  which 4.*.he 
state-robes  worn  by  the  king  at  his  interview  with  Drake 
were  made.* 

The  admiral  named  this  fair  and  fertile  country  New  Al- 
bion, and  erected  a  monument  of  his  discovery,  to  which 
was  nailed  a  brass  plate  bearing  the  name,  effigy,  and  arms 
of  her  majesty,  and  asserting  her  territorial  rights,  and  the 
date  of  possession  being  taken. 

Drake  had  spent  thirty-six  days  at  this  place, — a  long  but 
necessary  sojourn ;  but  the  repairs  of  the  ship  being  com- 
pleted, on  the  23d  July  he  bore  away  from  Port  Drake, f  the 
kind-hearted  natives  deeply  bewailing  the  departure  of  their 
new  friends.  The  regret,  good-will,  and  respect  were  in- 
deed mutual.  The  Indians  entreated  the  English  to  re- 
member them,  and  as  a  farewell  offering  or  homage  secretly 
provided  what  is  called  a  sacrifice.  While  the  ship  remained 
in  sight  they  kept  tires  burning  on  the  heights.  It  is  de- 
lightful at  this  time  to  hear  of  Europeans  leaving  grateful 

*  Captain  Beechey  informs  us,  that  the  fields  in  the  vicinity  of  San 
Francisco  are  burrowed  by  a  small  rat  resembling  the  mtts  arvaliSi  by 
a  mountain-rat  of  the  cricetus  kind,  and  by  another  little  animal  resem- 
bling a  squirrel,  which  is  named  ardillo,  and  is  said  to  be  most  excellent 
eating:.  The  species  above  alluded  to  by  Drake  has  by  some  been  sup- 
posed synonymous  with  the  tucan  of  Fernandez,  and  the  Canada  pouched 
rat,  or  mus  bursarins  of  Shaw. 

f  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  about  the  locality  of  Port  Drake ; 
English  navigators  supposing  it  the  Port  San  Francisco  of  the  Span- 
iards, while  the  latter  think  it  a  port  four  leagues  farther  north.  Captain 
Beechey,  who  in  the  winter  of  182G  lay  here  for  six  weeks,  gives  no 
opinion  on  the  subject. 


98  DRAKE'S  DISCOVERIES. 

remembrances  of  their  visits  on  any  coast,  and  the  pleasure 
is  enhanced  by  being  able  to  claim  this  honour  for  our  coun- 
tryman. It  was  from  some  fancied  resemblance  to  the  white 
dills  of  Mngland  that  Drake  bestowed  on  the  coast  he  had 
surveyed  the  name  of  New  Albion.* 

.\e\t  day  a  store  of  seals  and  birds  were  caught  at  some 
small  islands  which  are  now  supposed  to  he  the  Farellones 
of  modern  charts. 

Thus  far  had  Drake  boldly  explored  in  search  of  a  pas- 
sa-jc  homeward,  either  through  an  undiscovered  strait,  or 
around  the  northern  extremity  of  the  continent  of  America  ; 
but  now  ihis  design,  so  honourable  to  his  enterprise  and 
even  to  his  sagacity,  was  for  the  present  abandoned  ;  the 
winds  being  ;id\erse,  and  the  season  too  much  advanced  to 
'-. Mite  farther  so  perilous  an  adventure.  Leaving  the 
se.'nr;  of  his  discoveries  on  the  western  coast  of  America, 
which  arc  reckoned  to  begin  immediately  to  the  north  of 
Gape  Mendocino  and  to  extend  to  48°  N.,  Drake,  with  the 
unanimous  consent  of  his  company,  having  formed  the  de- 
of  returning  home  by  India  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
H.tpe,  sailed  westward  for  sixty-eight  days  without  coming 
in  sight  of  land.  On  the  13th  September  he  fell  in  with 
some  islands  in  8°  J\T.  As  soon  as  the  Golden  Hind  ap- 
peared, the  natives  came  off  in  canoes,  each  containing  from 
four  to  fourteen  men,  bringing  cocoanuts,  fish,  and  fruits. 
Their  canoes  were  ingeniously  formed  and  prettily  orna- 
mented, hollowed  out  of  a  single  tree,  and  so  high  at  the 
stern  and  prow  as  to  be  nearly  semicircular.  The  islanders 
were  not  yet  sufficiently  enlightened  in  mercantile  affairs  to 
have  learned  that  honesty  is  the  dealer's  best  policy.  Drake, 
however,  instead  of  imitating  the  conduct  of  Magellan,  and 
instantly  shooting  them  for  thieving,  or  burning  their 
houses,  endeavoured  to  bring  them  to  a  sense  of  propriety 
merely  by  refusing  to  traffic  with  those  who  were  found  dis- 
honest. This  excited  their  displeasure,  and  a  general  attack 
of  stones  was  commenced.  A  cannon,  not  shotted,  fired 
over  their  heads  to  scare  them  away  had  only  this  effect  for 
a  short  time.  The  general  was  at  last  compelled  to  adopt 

*  After  passing  Punta  de  los  Reyes,  Captain  Beechey  awaited  the 
return  of  dny  off  some  vhife  cliffs,  which  ho.  believed  must  be  those 
which  mad'1  isir  Francis  Drake  bestow  on  this  tract  of  country  the  name 
of  New  Albion. 


ISLANDS    OF    THIEVES.  99 

more  severe  measures  of  retaliation,  and  we  are  told  in  vague 
terms  that  "  smart  was  necessary  as  well  as  terror."  The 
natives  of  those  Islands  of  Thieves,  as  they  were  named  by 
the  English,  had  the  lobes  of  their  ears  cut  out  into  a  circle, 
which  hung  down  on  their  cheeks.  Their  teeth  were  black 
as  jet,  from  the  use  of  a  powder  which  they  constantly  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  staining  them.  This  powder  they 
carried  about  with  them  in  a  hollow  cane.  Another  pecu- 
liarity observed  was  the  length  of  their  nails,  which  was 
above  an  inch.  It  has  been  conjectured,  with  every  mark 
of  probability,  that  Drake's  Islands  of  Thieves  are  the 
islands  named  De  Sequeira,  discovered  by  Diego  da  Rocha, 
as  mentioned  at  p.  44  of  this  volume,  and  the  Pelew  Islands 
of  our  own  times  ;  if  so,  the  morals  of  the  inhabitants  must 
have  improved  greatly  in  the  long  interval  which  elapsed 
between  this  first  visit  of  the  English  and  that  made  by  Cap- 
tain Wilson  in  the  Duff.  The  wind  coming  fair,  on  the  3d 
October  the  Golden  Hind  stood  westward,  and  on  the  IGth 
of  the  month  made  the  Philippines  in  7°  5'  north  of  the  line. 
They  first  fell  in  with  four  islands  having  a  thick  popula- 
tion, or  the  appearance  of  it.  These  they  visited,  and  after- 
ward anchored  in  Mindanao.  Sailing  hence  on  the  22d, 
they  kept  a  southerly  course,  and  passed  between  two 
islands  about  six  or  eight  leagues  south  of  Mindanao,  sup- 
posed to  be  Sarangan  and  Candigar. 

On  the  3d  November  the  Moluccas  were  seen,  and  they 
steered  for  Tidore  ;  but  in  coasting  along  Motir  a  boat  came 
off,  from  which  Drake  learned  that  the  Portuguese,  expelled 
from  Terrenate,  or  Ternate,  by  the  king  of  that  island,  had 
fixed  their  head-quarters  at  Tidore.  In  this  boat  was  the 
Viceroy  of  Motir,  which  island  was  under  the  sovereignty 
of  the  powerful  and  warlike  King  of  Ternate.  As  soon  as 
the  viceroy  understood  that  Drake  had  no  reason  either  to 
love  or  trust  the  Portuguese,  he  entreated  him  to  change 
his  destination ;  and  the  ship  accordingly  steered  for  the 
port  of  Ternate. 

Previous  to  coming  to  an  anchor  before  the  town,  a  cour- 
teous offer  of  friendship  was  made  by  the  general  through  a 
messenger  whom  he  sent  on  shore  with  a  velvet  cloak  as  a 
present  to  the  king,  and  who  was  instructed  to  sav  that  the 
English  came  hither  only  to  trade  and  to  procure  refresh- 
ments. The  viceroy  of  Motir  had  previously  disposed  the 


100  CHIEFS    OF    TERNATE. 

king  to  give  Drake  a  favourable  reception.  To  the  gene- 
ral's mes&age  a  gracious  answer  was  returned.  All  that  the 
territories  of  the  King  of  Ternate  afforded  were  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  English,  and  that  prince  was  ready  to  lay  him- 
self and  his  whole  dominions  at  the  feet  of  so  glorious  a 
princess  as  the  Queen  of  England.  By  some  of  the  voyagers 
this  flourish  of  oriental  hyperbole  is  most  literally  inter- 
preted. The  English  envoy  was  received  with  great  pomp ; 
and  as  credentials,  or  safe-conduct,  a  signet  (we  are  not  told 
in  what  form)  was  transmitted  through  him  to  the  captain- 
general.  Before  the  ship  came  to  anchor  the  king  put  off 
to  pay  it  a  visit  of  welcome  and  ceremony.  The  royal 
equipment  consisted  of  three  state  barges,  or  canoes,  filled 
with  the  most  distinguished  persons  of  his  retinue.  They 
wore  dresses  of  white  muslin, — "  white  lawn,  of  cloth  of 
Calicut."  Over  their  heads  was  a  canopy  or  awning  of  per- 
fumed mats,  supported  on  a  framework  of  reeds.  Their 
personal  attendants,  also  dressed  in  white,  stood  next  them ; 
and  beyond  these  were  ranks  of  warriors  armed  with  dirks 
and  daggers.  These  again  were  encircled  by  the  rowers, 
of  which  there  were  eighty  to  each  barge,  placed  in  galle- 
ries raised  above  the  other  seats,  three  on  each  side.  They 
rowed,  or  rather  paddled,  in  cadence  to  the  clashing  of  cym- 
bals, and  altogether  made  a  gallant  show.  The  king,  who 
advanced  in  the  last  barge,  was  saluted  with  a  discharge  of 
all  the  great  guns,  and  the  martial  music  which  Drake  em- 
ployed on  occasions  of  ceremonial  struck  up.  The  canoes 
paddled  round  and  round  the  ship,  the  king  appearing  de- 
lighted with  the  music,  and  gratified  by  the  signs  of  wealth 
and  magnificence  exhibited  by  his  visiters.  He  was  him- 
self a  tall,  stout,  graceful  man,  and  celebrated  as  a  conqueror 
and  warrior.  By  policy  and  force  of  arms  he  had  not  only 
expelled  the  Portuguese  from  this  island,  but  subdued  many 
others,  so  that  seventy  islands  now  owned  his  sway.  He 
professed  the  faith  of  Mohammed,  which  was  now  become 
the  religion  of  all  his  dominions.  It  is  worthy  of  remark, 
that  in  the  ceremonies  and  external  observances  of  royalty 
the  native  princes  of  these  Indian  islands  might  have  vied 
with  the  most  polished  courts  of  Europe.  Elizabeth,  whose 
board  was  daily  spread  with  lowly  bends  and  reverences, 
was  not  more  punctilious  in  ceremonial  and  etiquette 
than  the  sovereign  of  Ternate.  His  courtiers  and  attend- 
ants approached  the  royal  presence  with  the  most  profound 


COURT  OF  THE  KING  OF  TERNATE.    101 

respect,  no  one  speaking  to  the  king  save  in  a  kneeling  pos- 
ture. As  soon  as  the  ship  came  to  an  anchor  the  king  took 
leave,  promising  another  visit  on  the  following  day. 

That  same  evening  a  present  of  fowls,  rice,  sugar,  cloves, 
and  frigo  was  received,  and  "  a  sort  of  fruit,"  says  the  Fa- 
mous Voyage,  "they  call  AVfifu,  which  is  a  meal  made  out 
of  the  tops  of  trees,  melting  in  the  mouth  like  sugar,  but 
eating  like  sour  curd ;  but  yet  when  made  into  cakes  will 
keep  so  as  to  be  very  lit  for  eating  at  the  end  often  years." 
It  is  pleasant  to  come  thus  upon  the  first  simple  notice  of 
those  productions  of  other  climes  which  have  so  long  con- 
tributed to  the  comfort,  variety,  or  luxury  of  European  com- 
munities. 

Instead  of  coming  on  board  next  day  the  king  sent  his 
brother  to  bear  his  excuses,  and  to  remain  as  a  hostage  for 
the  safe  return  of  the  captain-general,  who  was  invited  to 
land.  The  invitation  was  not  accepted,  the  English  having 
some  doubts  of  the  good  faith  of  the  fair-promising  sove- 
reign of  Ternate.  But  some  of  the  gentlemen  went  on 
shore ;  their  first  acquaintance,  the  Viceroy  of  Motir,  re- 
maining as  a  hostage,  as  well  as  the  king's  brother.  On 
landing,  they  were  received  with  the  pomp  which  had  been 
intended  to  grace  the  entrance  of  Drake  into  the  capital ; 
another  brother  of  the  king  and  a  party  of  the  nobles  con- 
ducted them  to  the  palace,  which  stood  near  the  dismantled 
fort  of  the  expelled  Portuguese.  There  they  found  an 
assembly  of  at  least  a  thousand  persons,  sixty  of  them  being 
courtiers  or  privy-counsellors,  "  very  grave  persons,"  and 
four  Turkish  envoys,  in  robes  of  scarlet  and  turbans,  who 
were  then  at  the  court  of  Ternate  concluding  a  treaty  of 
commerce.  The  king  was  guarded  by  twelve  lances.  "  A 
glorious  canopy  embroidered  with  gold  was  carried  over  his 
head."  His  garb  was  a  robe  of  cloth  of  gold,  hanging  loose 
about  his  person  ;  his  legs  were  bare,  but  on  his  feet  he  wore 
slippers  of  Cordovan  leather.  Around  his  neck  hung  a 
weighty  chain  of  gold,  and  fillets  of  the  same  metal  were 
wreathed  through  his  hair.  On  his  fingers  "  were  many 
fair  jewels."  At  the  right  side  of  his  chair  of  state  stood  a 
page  cooling  him  with  a  fan  two  feet  in  length  and  one  in 
breadth,  embroidered  and  adorned  with  sapphires,  and  fast- 
ened to  a  staff  three  feet  long,  by  which  it  was  moved.  His 
voice  was  low,  and  jlis  aspect  benign. 
12 


102  CRAB   ISLAND. 

Drake  did  not  afterward  land ;  and  the  offers  made  of 
exclusive  traffic  with  the  English  were,  it  appears,  received 
by  him  with  indifference. 

Having  procured  a  supply  of  provisions  and  a  considerable 
quantity  of  cloves,  the  Golden  Hind  left  the  Moluccas  on 
the  9th  November,  and  on  the  14th  anchored  at  a  small 
island  near  the  eastern  part  of  Celebes,  which  they  named 
Crab  Island.  This  place  being  uninhabited  and  affording 
abundance  of  wood,  though  no  water  was  found,  tents  were 
erected  on  shore,  and  fences  formed  around  them  ;  and  here 
they  resolved  effectually  to  repair  the  ship  for  her  homeward 
voyage.  This  proved  a  pleasant  sojourn.  The  island  was  one 
continued  forest  of  a  kind  of  trees,  large,  lofty,  and  straight 
in  the  stem,  nor  branching  out  till  near  the  top  ;  the  leaves 
resembling  the  broom  of  England.*  About  these  trees 
flicker  innumerable  bats  "  as  big  as  hens."  There  were 
also  multitudes  of  shining  flies  no  bigger  than  the  common 
fly  in  England,  which,  skimming  up  and  down  in  the  air, 
between  the  trees  and  bushes,  mnde  them  appear  "  as  if  they 
were  burning."  There  were  also  great  numbers  of  land- 
crabs,  described  as  a  sort  of  crayfish,  "  which  dig  holes  in 
the  earth  like  conies,  and  are  so  large  that  one  of  them  will 
dine  four  persons,  and  very  good  mtat."t 

At  a  small  neighbouring  island  water  was  procured,  and 
on  the  12th  December,  having  lain  at  Crab  Island  about  a 
month,  the  Hind  sailed  for  the  west,  and  soon  got  entangled 
among  islets  and  shoals,  which  induced  them  to  steer  for 

*  But  for  this  resemblance  of  the  foliage  we  should  say  the  descrip- 
tion refers  to  some  species  of  palm. 

t  The  islands  of  the  Indian  and  eastern  seas  are  still  inhabited  by 
several  species  of  bat  of  large  dimensions  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  easy 
to  ascertain,  from  the  vague  and  brief  allusions  of  the  earlier  voyagers, 
the  precise  species  which  they  intended  to  indicate.  The  lesser  Teniate 
bat  of  Pennant,  figured  by  Seba  (1  tab.  57.  fig.  1  and  2),  occurs  both  in  , 
the  island  of  Timor  and  in  that  from  which  it  derives  its  specific  name. 
It  is  the  ptcrojnts  stramimu*  of  M.  (JroiTrov  (Ann.  Mus.  torn.  15.  p.  95), 
to  whom  we  owe  the  best  part  of  our  knowledge  of  the  cheiropterous 
tribes.  Several  flying  quadrupeds  of  the  genus  galeopithccvs  likewise 
inhabit  the  Moluccas. 

The  fireflies  of  eastern  countries  belong  chiefly  to  the  hemipterous 
order,  especially  the  genusfulswra,  and  are  remarkable  for  the  emission 
ef  a  very  pure  and  beautiful  light. 

Land-crabs,  properly  so  called,  belong  to  the  genus  gecarcinus;  they 
dwell  in  subterranean  excavations  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  year, 
and  proceed  to  the  sea  in  immense  bands  at  particular  seasons  to  depos- 
ite  their  ova.  Their  habits  are  nocturnal. 


DANGER    OF    THE    SHIP.  103 

the  south,  to  get  free  of  such  dangerous  ground.  At  this 
time  occurred  the  most  imminent  peril  and  providential 
escape  that  attended  this  remarkable  voyage, — an  incident 
as  much  resembling  a  visible  interposition  of  Divine  aid 
where  human  hope  was  perished  as  any  to  be  found  among 
the  almost  miraculous  records  of  preservation  contained  in 
the  relations  of  maritime  adventure. 

After  being  teased  for  many  days,  on  the  9th  January 
they  flattered  themselves  that  the  shoals  were  at  last  cleared. 
On  that  same  evening,  early  in  the  first  watch,  while  the 
Golden  Hind  with  all  her  sails  set  was  running  before  a 
fair  wind,  she  came  suddenly  upon  a  shelving  rock,  and 
stuck  fast.  Violent  as  was  the  shock  she  had  sprung  no 
leak,  and  the  boats  were  immediately  lowered  to  sound,  and 
ascertain  if  an  anchor  could  be  placed  in  such  a  situation  as 
would  permit  the  ship  to  be  drawn  off  into  deep  water. 
But  the  rock  in  which  she  was  as  it  were  jammed  shelved  so 
abruptly  that  at  the  distance  of  only  a  few  yards  no  bottom 
could  be  found.  A  night  of  great  anxiety  was  passed  ;  and 
when  the  dawn  permitted  a  second  search  for  anchorage- 
ground,  it  only  ended  in  more  confirmed  and  bitter  disap- 
pointment. There  seemed  no  help  of  man ;  yet  in  the 
midst  of  their  calamity  several  fortunate,  or  more  properly 
providential,  circumstances  intervened.  No  leak  had  been 
sprung ;  and  though  the  ebb-tide  left  the  ship  in  only  six 
feet  of  water,  while,  so  deeply  was  she  treasure-laden,  thir- 
teen were  required  to  float  her,  a  strong  and  steady  gale 
b lowing  from  the  side  to  which  she  must  have  reeled  as  the 
tide  gradually  receded  supported  her  in  this  dangerous  po- 
sition. In  this  dreadful  situation,  instead  of  giving  them- 
selves up  to  despair  or  apathy,  Drake  and  his  company  be- 
haved with  the  manliness,  coolness,  and  resolution  which 
have  ever  in  the  greatest  perils  characterized  British  seamen. 
The  crew  were  summoned  to  prayers,  and,  this  solemn  duty 
fulfilled,  a  last  united  effort  was  made  for  the  common  safety. 
A  quantity  of. meal,  eight  of  the  guns,  and  three  tons  of 
cloves  were  thrown  overboard.  This  partial  lightening  pro- 
d  iced  no  visible  effect;  the  ship  stuck  as  fast  as  before. 
The  simple  language  of  the  original  narrative  is  so  much 
more  forcible  and  touching  than  any  modern  paraphrase,  that 
we  at  once  adopt  it.  In  a  single  sentence  it  displays  the 
manly  and  self-depending  character  of  Drake,  and  the  vene- 


104  MIRACULOUS    PRESERVATION. 

ration  and  implicit  confidence  \\iih  which  his  crew  regarded 
him  : — "Of  all  other  days,"  says  one  old  relation,  "on  the 
9th  January,  in  the  yeere  1579  (1580),  we  ranne  upon  a 
rockc,  whore  we  stuck  fast  from  eight  of  the  clocke  at  iiiirhtc 
till  four  of  the  clocke  in  the  afternoon  of  next  day,  being, 
indeed,  out  of  all  hope  to  escape  the  danger;  hut  our  gene- 
rall,  as  bee  had  alwayes  shown  himself  couragious,  and  of 
a  good  confidence  in  the  mercie  and  protection  of  God,  so 
now  he  continued  in  the  same  ;  and  lest  he  should  seem  to 
perish  wilfully,  both  hee  and  wee  did  our  best  endevour  to 
save  ourselves,  which  it  pleased  God  so  to  bless  that  in  the 
ende  we  cleared  ourselves  most  happily  of  the  danger."  It 
was,  however,  by  no  effort  of  their  own  that  they  were  finally 
extricated,  though  nothing  that  skill  and  courage  could  sug- 
gest or  accomplish  was  wanting.  The  wind  slackened  and 
fell  with  the  tide,  and  at  the  lowest  of  the  ebb  veered  to  the 
opposite  point,  when  the  vessel  suddenly  reeled  to  her  side. 
The.  shock  loosened  her  keel,  and  at  the  moment  of  what 
appeared  inevitable,  destruction  she  plunged  into  the  deep 
water  once  more  as  freely  ailoat  as  when  first  launched  into 
the  ocean.  The  thankfulness  of  the  ship's  company  may 
be  imagined.*  This  dangerous  shoal  or  reef  is  not  far  from 
the  coast  of  Celebes,  in  1°  :"('>'  S. 

Their  perilous  adventure  made  them  afterward  very  wary  ; 
and  it  was  not  till  some  weeks  had  elapsed  that,  cautiously 
exploring  their  way,  they  finally  extricated  themselves  from 
this  entangled  coast. 

On  the  8th  February  they  fell  in  with  the  island  of  Bara- 
tane,  probably  the  island  now  called  Booton,  a  pleasant  and 
fruitful  place.  It  afforded  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  sulphur. 
The  fruits  and  other  natural  productions  were  ginger,  long 
pepper,  lemons,  cocoas,  cucumbers,  nutmegs,  frigo,  sago, 
<&c.  &c.  Ternate  excepted,  this  island  afforded  better  and 

*  It  has  been  shrewdly  remarked,  that  these  pious  seamen  never  for 
one  moment  seem  to  have  entertained  the  idea  ol'  throwing  any  part  of 
their  immense  treasure  overboard,  which  would  have  materially  light- 
ened the  ship.  The  account  of  the  escape  given  in  "  The  Famous  Voy- 
age" differs  from  the  above,  which  is,  however,  regarded  as  the  most 
authentic  relation  of  this  almost  miraculous  preservation.  It  states,  that 
after  the  ship  was  lightened  "the  wind  (as  it  were  in  a  monirlit  by  the 
special  grace  of  Rod)  changing  from  the  starboard  to  the  larboard 
•we  hoisted  our  sails,  and  the  happy  gale  drove  our  ship  off  the  rocks  into 
the  sea  again,  to  the  no  small  comfort  of  all  our  hearts;  lor  which  we 
gave  God  such  praise  and  thanks  us  so  great  a  benefit  required." 


SOCIAL    CONDITION    OF    JAVA.  105 

greater  variety  of  refreshments  for  the  mariner  than  any  land 
at  which  our  navigators  had  touched  since  they  had  left 
England.  The  inhabitants  were  worthy  of  the  fertile  region 
they  inhabited.  In  form  and  features  they  were  a  hand- 
some people  ;  in  disposition  and  manners,  mild  and  friendly  ; 
fair  in  their  dealings,  and  obliging  in  their  behaviour.  The 
men  were  naked,  save  a  small  turban  and  a  piece  of  cloth 
about  their  waists ;  but  the  women  were  clothed  from  the 
middle  to  the  feet,  and  had  their  arms  loaded  with  bracelets 
fashioned  of  bone,  horn,  and  brass.  The  men  universally 
wore  ornaments  in  their  ears.  These  islanders  received 
the  English  with  kindness  and  civility,  and  gladly  supplied 
their  wants. 

Leaving  Baratane  with  very  favourable  impressions  of 
the  country  and  the  people,  they  made  sail  for  Java,  which 
was  reached  on  the  12th  of  March.  Here  the  navigators 
remained  for  twelve  days  in  a  course  of  constant  festivity. 
The  island  was  at  this  time  governed  by  five  independent 
chiefs  or  rajahs,  who  lived  in  perfect  amity,  and  vied  with 
each  other  in  showing  hospitality  and  courtesy  to  their  Eng- 
lish visiters. 

The  social  condition  of  the  Javans  at  this  comparatively 
early  period  exhibits  a  pleasing  and  attractive  picture  of 
semi-barbarous  life,  if  a  state  of  society  may  be  thus  termed, 
which  appears  to  realize  many  of  our  late  Utopian  schemes 
of  visionary  perfection.  The  Javans  were  of  good  size  and 
well-formed,  bold,  and  warlike.  Their  weapons  and  armour 
were  swords,  bucklers,  and  daggers  of  their  own  manufac- 
ture, the  blades  admirably  tempered,  the  handles  highly  or- 
namented. The  upper  part  of  their  bodies  was  entirely 
naked,  but  from  the  waist  downwards  they  wore  a  flowing 
garment  of  silk  of  some  gay  and  favourite  colour.  In  every 
village  there  was  a  house  of  assembly,  or  public  hall,  where 
these  social  and  cheerful  people,  whom  we  may  call  the 
French  of  the  Indian  islands,  met  twice  a-day  to  partake  of 
a  kind  of  picnic  meal  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  conversa- 
tion. To  this  common  festival  every  one  contributed  at  his 
pleasure  or  convenience,  bringing  fruits,  boiled  rice,*  roast 

*  The  Javan  cookery  of  rice,  as  described  by  Drake's  crew,  is  worthy 
of  a  place  in  English  cookery  books.  An  earthen  vessel  of  a  conical 
form,  open  at  the  widest  end,  and  perforated  with  holes,  was  filled  with 
rice,  and  plunged  into  a  larger  vessel  of  boiling  water.  The  rice,  swell- 


106         SAFE    RETURN    OF    THE    EXPEDITION. 

fowls,  and  sago.  On  a  table  raised  three  feet  the  feast  was 
spread,  and  the  party  gathered  round,  "  every  one  delight- 
ing in  the  company  of  another."  While  the  Hind  lay  here 
a.  constant  intercourse  and  interchange  of  kindnesses  and 
civilities  were  maintained  between  the  sea  and  shore ;  the 
rajahs  coining  frequently  on  board  either  singly  or  to- 
gether. 

But  the  delights  of  Java  could  not  long  banish  the  remem- 
brance of  England,  to  which  «very  wish  was  now  directed. 
Making  sail  from  Java,  the  first  land  seen  was  the  Capo  of 
Good  Hope,  which  they  passed  on  the  15th  June.  The 
Spaniards  had  not  more  studiously  magnified  the  real  dan- 
gers of  Magellan's  Straits  than  the  Portuguese  had  exagge- 
rated and  misrepresented  the  storms  and  perils  which  sur- 
round the  Cape  ;  and  it  required  the  characteristic  intre- 
pidity and  consummate  skill  of  Drake  to  venture  with  his 
single  bark  on  this  doubtful  and  almost  untried  navigation. 
It  is,  however,  probable  that  he  suspected  the  craft  which 
suggested  this  attempt  to  hoodwink  and  delude  all  other 
maritime  nations,  that  Portugal  mi^ht  long  retain  a  mo- 
nopoly of  her  important  discovery.  Certain  it  is,  that  the 
ship's  company  were  surprised  that  close  by  the  Cape — 
"  the  most  stately  tiling  and  goodliest  cape  seen  in  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  whole  earth" — no  violent  tempests  or  aw- 
ful perils  were  encountered  ;  and  they  accordingly  shrewdly 
concluded  the  report  of  the  "  Portugals  most  false." 

Deeming  it  unsafe  or  inexpedient  to  halt  here,  Drake 
stood  for  land  of  which  he  had  better  knowledge,  and  on  the 
22d  July  arrived  at  Sierra  Leone.  Water  was  obtained, 
and  the  refreshment  of  fruits  and  oysters,  of  which,  we  nr«> 
told,  "  one  kind  was  found  on  trees  spawning  and  increas- 
ing wonderfully, — the  oyster  suffering  no  bud  to  grow."  It 
was  imagined  the  26th  of  September,  1580,  when,  without 
touching  at  other  land,  Captain  Drake,  after  a  voyage  of  two 
years  and  ten  months,  came  to  anchor,  whence  he  had  set 
out,  in  the  harbour  of  Plymouth.  The  day  of  the  week  was 
Monday,  though  by  the  reckoning  kept  by  the  voyagers 
Sunday,  and  the  27th  the  true  time  ;  the  same  loss  of  a  day 
having  befallen  them  which  had  puzzled  Magellan's  crew, 

ing,  soon  stopped  the  holes,  and  the  mass  was  steamed  till  it  became 
firm  and  hard  like  bread,  when  it  was  eatt-u  with  slices,  fruit,  sugar, 
meat,  oil,  &e.  <fcc. 


DRAKE'S  GREAT  CELEBRITY.     107 

— a  mystery  now  clear  to  the  most  juvenile  student  in  geo- 
graphy.* 

The  safe  return  of  the  expedition,  the  glory  attending  so 
magnificent  an  enterprise,  and  the  immense  mass  of  wealth 
brought  home  made  the  arrival  of  Drake  be  hailed  through- 
out England  as  an  event  of  great  national  importance.  Such 
in  fact  it  was,  as  his  success  gave  an  incalculable  impetus 
to  the  rapidly-increasing  maritime  spirit  of  the  country. 

The  bravery,  the  exploits,  and  the  wonderful  adventures 
of  Drake  immediately  became  the  theme  of  every  tongue. 
Courtiers  patronised  and  poets  praised  him  ;  and,  to  com- 
plete his  celebrity,  envious  detractors  were  not  wanting, 
who,  with  some  plausibility,  represented  that  England  and 
Spain,  though  cherishing  the  bitterest  national  antipathy, 
being  still  nominally  at  peace,  his  enterprises  were  at  best 
but  those  of  a  splendid  corsair  ;  and  that  his  spoliation  of 
the  subjects  of  Spain  must  provoke  reprisal  on  such  mer- 
chants as  had  goods  and  dealings  in  that  country.  It  was 
urged  that,  of  all  countries,  a  trading  nation  like  England 
should  carefully  avoid  offending  in  a  kind  which  laid  her 
open  to  speedy  punishment,  and  must  frustrate  the  advance- 
ment of  her  maritime  prosperity.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
friends  and  admirers  of  the  navigator  contended,  that  he  of 
all  men,  who  had  been  so  deep  a  sufferer  from  their  perfidy, 
was  entitled  to  take  the  punishment  of  the  Spaniards  into 
his  own  hands  ;  and  that  his  gallant  enterprise,  while  it 
inspired  foreign  nations  with  a  high  opinion  of  the  mari- 
time talent  and  power  of  England,  would  at  home  excite 
the  noblest  emulation, — an  effect  which  it  already  had,  the 
island,  from  the  one  extreme  to  the  other,  being  now  in- 
flamed with  the  ardour  that  his  splendid  achievements  had 
kindled,  and  which  was  soon  to  be  manifested  in  a  series  of 
actions  emanating  directly  from  his  expedition. 

In  the  moan  while  Drake  lost  no  time  in  repairing  to 


ciiiuiis,  u  i^  [Jiupci   lu  iiuuue,  unut:   rut  nil,  mm   wnerw  n  liiaj 

;s  or  trilling  matters  of  lact  from  other  narrations,  flie  dis- 
risos  from  the  adoption  oi'what  are  considered  ihs  best  au- 
rtatementa 


108      THE  QUEEN'S  VISIT  TO  SIR  F.  DRAKE. 

court.  Elizabeth,  who  with  all  her  faults  never  favoured 
the  despicable,  was  more  purely  the  fountain  of  all  favour 
and  honour  than  any  preceding  sovereign,  and  her  personal 
regard  more  the  object  of  ambition.  Drake  was  graciously 
received,  but  not  yet  openly  countenanced.  The  queen 
permitted  the  first  fervours  of  both  his  admirers  and  ene- 
mies to  abate  before  she  openly  declared  her  own  senti- 
ments. A  show  of  coldness  was  also  a  necessary  part  of 
the  subtle  game  she  was  still  playing  with  Spain. 

The  complaints  of  the  Spaniards  were  violent  and  loud ; 
and  the  queen  deemed  it  prudent  to  place  the  wealth  brought 
home  under  sequestration  till  their  claims  should  be  inves- 
tigated ;  or,  more  correctly,  till  the  complainers  could  be 
either  baffled  or  wearied  out  in  solicitation.  It  was  the 
policy  of  Elizabeth  to  protract  the  long-impending  hostili- 
ties between  the  countries,  and  among  other  means  the 
plundered  gold  was  employed.  As  ;i  iorotaste,  or  a  bribe 
to  purchase  peace  a  little  longer,  several  small  sums  were 
paid  to  the  agent  for  Spanish  claims  ;  but,  when  tired  of 
the  game  of  diplomacy,  which  tho  queen  relished  as  much 
for  the  enjoyment  of  the  play  as  the  value  of  the  stakes, 
she  suddenly  took  the  resolution  of  openly  countenancing 
the  daring  navigator,  whose  boldness,  discretion,  and  bril- 
liant success  were  so  happily  adapted  to  gain  her  favour. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1581,  the  queen  went  in  state  to 
dine  on  board  the  Golden  Hind,  now  lying  at  Deptford ; 
and  Drake,  who  naturally  loved  show  and  magnificence, 
spared  no  pains  in  furnishing  a  banquet  wrorthy  of  his  royal 
guest.  After  dinner  the  queen  conferred  upon  him  the 
honour  of  knighthood, — enhancing  the  value  of  the  distinc- 
tion by  politely  saying,  "that  his  actions  did  him  more  honour 
than  the  title  which  she  conferred."  The  queen  also  gave 
orders  that  his  ship  should  be  preserved  as  a  monument  of 
the  glory  of  the  nation  and  of  the  illustrious  commander. 
This  was  done,  and  when  it  would  no  longer  hold  togethei 
a  chair  was  made  of  one  of  the  planks,  and  presented  as  a 
relic  to  the  University  of  Oxford.*  On  the  day  of  the 

*  The  particulars  of  this  "  stately  visit"  would  unduly  swell  the  nar- 
rative. On  this  day  Elizabeth,  who,  like  King  William  IV.,  loved  to  be 
surrounded  by  her  subjects,  was  attended  in  her  progress  to  Deptford 
by  an  immense  concourse  of  people,  who  crowdrd  so  thickly  upon  the 
temporary  bridge,  or  planks  placed  between  the  river's  bank  and  the 


DRAKE'S  EXPEDITION  VINDICATED.         109 

queen's  visit,  in  compliment  to  her  majesty's  scholarship,  a 
variety  of  Latin  verses,  composed  by  the  scholars  of  Win- 
chester College,  were  nailed  to  the  mainmast,  in  which  the 
praises  of  the  ship  and  of  the  queen  were  alternated  and 
intermingled.  The  Golden  Hind  afterward  became  the 
theme  of  the  muse  of  Cowley.  One  translation  of  a  Latin 
epigram  on  the  ship  we  select  from  a  multitude  of  verses, 
as  its  quaintness  is  redeemed  by  its  elegance  : — 

The  stars  above  will  make  thee  known, 
If  man  were  silent  here ; 
The  Sun  himself  cannot  forge* 
His  fellow-traveller. 

The  reputation  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  had  now  obtained 
that  court-stamp  which,  without  increasing  value,  <nvr: 
currency.  Though  Elizabeth  had  so  far  temporized  as  to 
sequestrate  for  a  time  the  wealth  brought  home,  the  Spanish 
complaints  of  the  English  sailing  in  the  South  Sea  she 
scornfully  dismissed,— denying  "that,  by  the  Bishop  of 
Rome's  donation  or  any  other  right,  the  Spaniards  were 
entitled  to  debar  the  subjects  of  other  princes  from  these 
new  countries  ;  the  gift  of  what  is  another's  constituting 
no  valid  right ; — that  touching  here  and  there,  and  naming 
a  river  or  cape,  could  not  give  a  proprietary  title,  nor  hinder 
other  nations  from  trading  or  colonizing  in  those  parts 
where  the  Spaniards  had  not  planted  settlements."  One 
objectionable  part  of  Drake's  conduct  thus  obtained  royal 
vindication  ;  and  as  the  war,  long  impending,  was  no  longer 
avoidable,  his  alleged  depredations  were  forgotten  even  by 
his  envious  detractors,  and  his  fame  became  as  universal 
as  it  was  high.  Envy  itself  had  ever  been  forced  to  ac- 
knowledge, not  merely  his  maritime  skill  and  genius  for 
command,  but  the  humanity  and  benevolence  that  marked 
his  dealings  with  the  Indians,  and  the  generosity  with 
which  he  uniformly  treated  his  captives  of  that  nation  of 
all  others  the  most  hateful  to  Englishmen,  and  in  some 
respects  the  most  injurious  to  himself. 

But  the  achievements  of  the  Nelson  of  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth demand  a  new  chapter,  the  life  of  Drake  from  this  point 
being  intimately  blended  with  the  public  history  of  England 

Bhip,  that  it  gave  way,  and  some  hundreds  fell  into  the  water.  This  was 
an  unlucky  adventure,  but  no  one  was  either  killed  or  hurt,  which  the 
ready-witted  princess  attributed  solely  to  the  good  fortune  of  Drake. 
K 


110  COMMENCEMENT    OF    HOSTILITIES. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Expeditions  to  the  West  Indies. 

Commencement  of  Hostilities  with  Spain — Drake  captures  St.  Jago — 
Cruelty  of  the  Portuguese — Storming  of  St.  Domingo  and  Carthagena 
—The  Fever  of  the  West  Indies— Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  Colony- 
Drake  destroys  the  Spanish  Shipping— Observations  on  his  Character 
—The  Spanish  Armada— Capture  of  the  Galleon  of  Don  Pedro  Valdez 
— Expedition  to  restore  Don  Antonio — Expedition  with  Hawkins  to 
the  Spanish  Settlements  in  the  West  Indies — Attempt  against  Porto 
Rico— Failure  of  Baskerville's  Expedition  across  the  Isthmus — 
Death  of  Sir  Francis  Drake— Estimate  of  his  Character  and  Public 
Services. 

HOSTILITIES  with  Spain,  so  long  protracted  by  the  policy 
of  Elizabeth,  were  now  about  to  commence  in  good  earnest ; 
and  Drake  may  be  said  to  have  struck  the  first  blow.  War 
was  not  formally  declared  when  he  projected  an  expedition 
in  concert  with  Sir  Philip  Sydney, — the  two  most  popular 
men  of  their  time  being  to  command,  the  one  the  land  and 
other  the  sea  force.  On  the  part  of  Sir  Philip  the  design  was 
abandoned  at  the  express  command  of  the  queen,  who  re- 
quired his  services  in  the  Netherlands,  where  he  had  already 
been  usefully  employed  for  the  public  cause,  and  where,  in 
the  following  year,  he  met  his  early  and  glorious  death. 
Sir  Francis  Drake's  armament  consisted  of  twenty-five 
sail,  of  which  two  vessels  were  queen's  ships.  His  force 
amounted  to  2300  seamen  and  soldiers.  Under  his  com- 
mand were  several  officers  of  experience  and  high  reputa- 
tion. His  lieutenant-general  was  Christopher  Carlile,  his 
vice-admiral  the  celebrated  navigator  Martin  Frobisher  ;  and 
Captain  Francis  Knollys,  and  other  officers  of  celebrity, 
were  among  his  coadjutors  in  an  enterprise,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  unite  public  advantage  with  private 
emolument. 

The  fleet  stood  at  once  for  the  coast  of  Spain,  where 
Drake  meditated  a  bold  stroke  at  the  enemy's  naval  force 
in  passing  to  his  ulterior  objects  in  the  West  Indies ;  and 


CAPTURE    OF    ST.    JAGO.  Ill 

this  without  very  rigid  preliminary  inquiry  whether  war 
had  been  declared  or  not.  His  demand  to  know  why  an 
embargo  had  been  laid  upon  the  goods  of  certain  English 
merchants  was  answered  in  terms  so  pacific,  that  finding  it 
impossible  to  fasten  a  quarrel  upon  the  Spaniards  which 
would  justify  reprisal,  the  fleet  cruised  from  St.  Sebastian's 
to  Vigo,  capturing  some  small  tenders.  They  next  stood 
for  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  where,  landing  1000  men  in 
the  night,  Drake,  with  a  handful  of  them,  surprised  and 
took  St.  Jago,  which  the  inhabitants  hastily  abandoned. 
This  was  on  the  17th  November,  1585,  and  the  day  of 
Elizabeth's  accession,  which  was  celebrated  by  the  guns  of 
the  castle  firing  a  salute,  to  which  those  of  the  fleet  replied. 
The  conquest  had  proved  easy,  but  the  booty  was  in  pro- 
portion inconsiderable,  consisting  chiefly  of  trifling  mer- 
chandise, and  the  tawdry,  worthless  wares  employed  in 
trading  with  the  Indians  of  the  islands  and  on  the  shores 
of  the  continent  of  America.  If  there  had  been  any  treas- 
ure in  the  place,  it  was  either  carried  away  or  effectually 
concealed ;  and  the  threats  of  the  invaders  to  bum  and 
slay,  unless  the  terms  of  ransom  which  they  dictated  were 
complied  with,  produced  no  effect.  The  islanders  seemed 
determined  either  to  weary  or  to  starve  out  the  invaders  ; 
and  their  easy  conquest  soon  became  no  desirable  posses- 
sion. On  the  24th,  a  village  twelve  miles  in  the  interior, 
named  St.  Domingo,  was  taken  ;  but  the  islanders  still 
kept  aloof;  and  posting  placards,  denouncing  the  former 
cowardice  and  cruelty  of  the  Portuguese  and  their  present 
pusillanimity,  the  English  prepared  to  depart.  Then,  for 
the  first  time,  a  force  appeared  hanging  off  and  on,  as  if  to 
annoy  their  retreat.  Burning  the  town,  and  every  place 
within  reach,  the  English  re-embarked  in  good  order,  and 
stood  for  the  West  Indies. 

In  palliation  of  what  may  appear  useless  severity,  it  must 
be  stated  that,  besides  refusing  the  terms  of  ransom  offered 
them,  the  Portuguese  had  perpetrated  the  most  wanton 
cruelty  on  an  English  boy  who  had  straggled,  and  whose 
corpse  was  found  by  his  countrymen,  torn,  disfigured,  and 
dismembered, — as  if  he  had  rather  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  most  ferocious  tribe  of  cannibals  than  among  a  Chris- 
tian people.  The  islanders  had  also,  five  years  before,  mur- 
dered, under  the  protection  of  a  truce,  the  crew  of  a  Bristol 


112  STORMING    OF    ST.    DOMINGO, 

vessel  commanded  by  Captain  William  Hawkins.  The 
vengeance  which  may  afterward  be  taken  by  their  coun- 
trymen forms  a  strong  protection  to  a  single  ship's  company 
or  to  a  weak  crew  on  a  distant  coast ;  and  if  there  may  not 
be  strict  equity,  there  is  at  least  commendable  policy  in  a 
•  •on inlander  snowing  that  neither  former  kindness  nor  yet 
treachery  to  the  people  of  his  nation  is  either  unknown  or 
forgotten. 

While  the  fleet  lay  here,  that  malignant  fever  which 
proves  the  scourge  of  soldiers  and  seamen  in  these  climes 
broke  out  with  great  inveteracy,  and  carried  off  between 
<•!  three  hundred  of  the  men. 

They  next  touched  at  St.  Christopher's  and  Dominica, 
where  they  had  a  friendly  interview  with  some  of  the  abo- 
rigines, at  which  the  toys  and  wares  of  St.  Jago  were  libe- 
rally exchanged  for  tobacco  and  cassada. 

Attracted  by  the  fame  of  "  the  brave  city"  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, one  of  the  oldest  and  wealthiest  of  the  Spanish  set- 
ilrmonts  in  the  West  Indies,  it  was  determined  to  carry  it. 
Drake's  common  plan  of  attack  was  simple  and  uniform  :  a 
was  landed  in  the  night  to  make  the  assault  from  the 
land  side,  while  the  ships  co-operated  from  the  water.  On 
New-year's  day  the  English  landed  ten  miles  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  town,  and,  forming  into  two  divisions,  made 
the  attack  at  opposite  gates  ;  and  to  save  themselves  from 
the  guns  of  the  castle,  rushed  forward,  sword  in  hand,  pell- 
mell,  till  according  to  agreement  they  met  in  the  market- 
place in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  changed  the  fight  of 
the  Spaniards  into  precipitate  retreat.  Here  they  hastily 
barricaded  themselves,  resolved  to  maintain  their  post,  and 
confidently  expecting  an  attack.  But  the  Spaniards  gave 
them  little  trouble.  Struck  with  panic,  they  next  night 
abandoned  the  castle  to  the  invaders,  and  escaped  by  boats 
to  the  other  side  of  the  haven.  The  following  day  the  Eng- 
lish strengthened  their  position,  planting  the  ordnance 
which  they  took  within  their  trenches, — and,  thus  secured, 
held  the  place  for  a  month,  collecting  what  plunder  was  to 
be  found,  while  they  negotiated  with  the  Spaniards  for  the 
ransom  of  the  city.  The  terms  were  such  that  the  inhabit- 
ants were  unable  to  redeem  the  town  ;  and  burning  and 
negotiation  went  on  simultaneously  and  leisurely.  Two 
hundred  seamen,  and  as  many  soldiers  forming  their  guard, 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  CITY.  113 

were  employed  daily  in  the  work  of  destruction  ;  but  the 
buildings  being  lofty  piles,  substantially  constructed  of  stone, 
their  demolition  proved  a  fatiguing  duty  to  the  men  ;  and 
after  much  labour,  spent  with  little  loss  to  the  enemy  and  no 
profit  to  themselves,  the  ransom  of  25,000  ducats  was 
finally  accepted  for  the  safety -of  what  remained  of  the  city. 
The  plunder  obtained  was  very  inconsiderable  for  the  size 
and  imagined  riches  of  the  place. 

A  little  episode  in  the  history  of  this  enterprise  against 
St.  Domingo  deserves  notice,  as  it  places  the  energetic 
character  of  Drake  in  a  striking  point  of  view.  A  negro 
boy,  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  leading  people  while 
the  negotiation  for  ransom  was  pending,  was  met  by  some 
Spanish  officers,  who  furiously  struck  at  him,  and  after- 
ward pierced  him  through  with  a  horseman's  spear.  Dread- 
fully wounded  as  he  was,  the  poor  boy  tried  to  crawl  back 
to  his  master,  and  while  relating  the  cruel  treatment  he  had 
received,  he  fell  down  and  expired  in  the  presence  of  Drake. 
The  insult  offered  to  his  flag  of  truce,  and  the  barbarous 
treatment  of  the  lad,  roused  the  captain-general  to  the  high- 
est pitch  of  indignation.  He  commanded  the  provost-mar- 
shal, with  a  guard,  to  carry  two  unfortunate  monks,  who  had 
been  made  prisoners,  to  the  place  where  his  flag  was  violated, 
there  to  be  hanged.  Another  prisoner  shared  the  same  fate ; 
and  a  message  was  sent  to  the  Spaniards,  announcing  that 
until  the  persons  guilty  of  this  breach  of  the  law  of  nations 
were  given  up,  two  Spanish  prisoners  should,  suffer  daily. 
Next  day  the  offenders  were  sent  in  ;  and,  to  make  their  me- 
rited punishment  the  more  ignominious  and  exemplary,  their 
own  countrymen  were  forced  to  become  their  executioners. 

Among  other  instances  of  Spanish  boasting  and  vain- 
glory recorded  by  the  historians  of  the  voyage,  is  an  ac- 
count of  an  escutcheon  of  the  arms  of  Spain,  found  in  the 
town-hall  of  the  city,  on  the  lower  part  of  which  was  a 
globe,  over  which  was  represented  a  horse  rampant,  or  prob- 
ably volant,  with  the  legend  Non  sujficit  orbis.  This  vaunt 
gave  great  offence  at  this  particular  time  to  the  national 
pride  of  the  English,  who  told  the  negotiators,  that  should 
their  queen  be  pleased  resolutely  to  prosecute  the  war, 
instead  of  the  whole  globe  not  satisfying  his  ambition, 
Philip  would  find  some  difficulty  in  keeping  that  portion  of 
it  which  he  already  possessed. 
K2 


114  CAPTURE  OF    CARTHAOENA. 

Their  next  attempt  was  directed  against  Carthagena, 
"which  was  bravely  defended  and  gallantly  carried,  Carlile 
making  the  attack  on  the  land  side,  while  Drake's  fleet  pre- 
sented itself  before  the  town.  The  governor,  Alonzo  Bravo, 
was  made  prisoner ;  and  after  holding  the  place  for  six  weeks, 
and  destroying  many  houses,  the  trifling  ransom  of  11,000 
ducats  was  accepted  for  the  preservation  of  the  rest  of  the 
town.  The  Spaniards  might  not  have  got  off  on  such  easy 
terms,  but  that  the  fearful  pest,  the  deadly  bilious  fever, 
which  has  so  often  proved  fatal  to  English  expeditions  in  the 
very  same  locality,  now  raged  in  the  fleet,  and  compelled  the 
commanders  to  revise  their  plans  and  lower  their  demands. 
About  700  men  perished  in  this  expedition  of  the  calentura* 
alone,  as  the  disease,  since  described  by  Smollett  and  Glo- 
ver and  others,  was  then  named.  Those  who  struggled 
through  this  frightful  malady,  if  we  may  fully  credit  the 
early  accounts,  were  even  more  to  be  pitied  than  those  that 
sunk  under  the  disease.  Though  they  survived,  it  was  with 
loss  of  strength,  not  soon  if  ever  recovered  ;  and  many  suf- 
fered the  decay  of  memory  and  impaired  judgment ;  so  that, 
when  a  man  began  to  talk  foolishly  and  incoherently,  it  be- 
came a  common  phrase  in  the  fleet  to  say  that  such  a  one 
had  been  seized  with  the  calenture. 

The  design  of  attempting  Nombre  de  Dios  and  Panama, 
*'  there  to  strike  the  stroke  for  treasure,"  of  which  they  had 
hitherto  been  disappointed,  was  abandoned  in  a  council  of 
war ;  and  sailing  by  the  coast  of  Florida,  they  burnt  St» 

*  The  calenture,  ague,  bilious,  and  yellow  fever, — for  by  all  these 
names  is  the  Carthagena  fever  known,— has  never  been  more  truly  and 
vividly  described  than  in  Roderick  Random,  and  in  Smollett's  account  of 
the  "  Expedition  against  Carihagena,"  where  the  sufferings  of  Drake's 
expedition  were  acted  over  again.  In  Raynal's  History  of  the  Indies 
\ve  find  the  same  causes  assumed  for  this  littal  dtatemper  to  which  it 
was  attributed  by  Drake's  company,  the  j^stiferous  night-dews  of  a 
climate  where  even  the  long-continued  rains  of  the  wet  season  never 
cooled  the  air,  and  where  the  night  is  as  hot  as  the  day.  The  men  on 
watch  were  found  peculiarly  liable  to  its  attacks.  Though  there  is  some 
difference  of  opinion  about  the  causes  of  the  disease,  the  symptoms 
Were  the  same  in  1585  as  in  our  own  day.  u  The  disease,"  says  Ray- 
hal,  "  manifests  itself  by  vomitings,  accompanied  by  so  violent  a  de- 
lirium, that  the  patient  must  be  confined  to  prevent  him  from  tearing  him- 
Helf  to  pieces.  He  often  expires  in  the  midst  of  these  agitations,  which 
Seldom  last  above  three  or  four  days."  He  adds  that  the  fever  of 
Carthagena,  like  the  small-pox  and  some  other  diseases,  is  never  taken 
but  once,—a  point,  however,  like  many  others,  on  wkicii  doctors 


f>RAKE  DESTROYS  THE  SPANISH  SHIPPING.     115 

Helena  and  St.  Augustin,  two  forts  and  small  settlements  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  brought  off  from  Virginia  Mr.  Lane, 
the  governor,  with  the  remains  of  an  unfortunate  colony 
sent  out  under  the  auspices  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  the 
former  year.* 

It  was  in  July,  1586,  before  the  armament  returned,  bring- 
ing 200  brass  and  40  iron  cannon,  and  about  60,OOOZ.  in 
prize-money,  of  which  20,000/,  was  divided  among  the  men, 
and  the  remainder  allotted  to  the  adventurers.  Though 
the  private  gains  resulting  from  the  expedition  were  trifling, 
the  dismantling  of  so  many  fortresses  at  the  beginning  of  a 
war  was  a  service  to  the  country  of  no  inconsiderable  value. 
It  was  but  the  first  of  many  which  our  navigator  performed 
in  its  progress. 

The  next  exploit  of  Drake  was  wholly  for  the  public  ser- 
vice. The  rumour  of  that  formidable  armament  fitted  out 
by  Spain  to  invade  England,  and  first  in  fear,  though  after- 
ward in  jest,  named  the  Invincible  Armada,  had  spread 
general  alarm.  In  a  noble  spirit  of  patriotism,  the  mer- 
chants of  London,  at  their  own  expense,  fitted  out  twenty- 
six  vessels  of  different  sizes,  to  be  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Drake,  to  annoy,  the  enemy,  and,  if  possible,  frus- 
trate or  delay  the  boasted  design  of  invading  England.  To 
this  armament  the  queen  added  four  ships  of  the  royal  fleet ; 
and  with  this  considerable  force  Drake  bore  for  Lisbon,  and 
afterward  for  the  harbour  of  Cadiz,  where  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  burn  and  destroy  10,000  tons  burthen  of  snip- 
ping, either  destined  for  the  threatened  invasion  or  subser- 
vient to  this  purpose.  Here  he  remained  for  a  short  time, 
annoying  the  enemy's  galleys,  which  he  destroyed  piece- 
meal, though  his  great  enterprise  had  been  accomplished  in 
one  day  and  two  nights.  Drake,  having  thus  happily  ac- 
complished his  public  duty,  was  impelled  by  gratitude  and 
gallantry  to  attempt  a  stroke  which  might  enable  him  to  re- 
ward the  spirited  individuals  who  had  enabled  him  so  essen- 
tially to  serve  their  common  country.  Having  private  in- 

*  The  colony  carried  home  at  this  time  by  Drake,  with  the  tobacco 
which  they  brought  along  with  them,  first,  according  to  Camden,  intro- 
duced the  use  of  that  commodity  into  Britain,  where  it  now  yields  about 
3,000,0002.  of  yearly  revenue.  In  Virginia  they  had  learned  the  uses  of 
the  herb.  It  however  still  remains  undecided  whether  tobacco  was  intro- 
duced into  England  by  Raleigh  or  Draka  To  Drake  the  introduction  of 
potatoes  i8  universally  ascribed. 


116  ORAKE  APPOINTED  VICE-ADMIRAL. 

formation  that  the  St.  Philip,  a  Portuguese  carrack  from  the 
East  Indies,  was  about  this  time  expected  at  Terceira,  he 
sailed  for  the  Azores.  Before  he  fell  in  with  the  prize  the 
fleet  became  short  of  provisions ;  but  by  dint  of  promises 
and  threats,  Drake  prevailed  with  his  company  to  bear  up 
against  privations,  and  soon  had  the  felicity  of  bringing  in 
triumph  to  England  the  richest  prize  that  had  ever  yet  been 
made,  and  the  first-fruits  of  the  numerous  captures  to  which 
his  success  soon  led  the  way  both  among  the  Dutch  and 
English.  The  name  of  the  prize  was  hailed  as  an  omen  of 
future  victory  to  England.  Drake  is  blamed  for  discovering 
undue  elation  at  the  close  of  this  triumphant  expedition. 
He  is  said  to  have  become  boastful  of  his  own  deeds,  though 
the  only  ground  of  charge  is  gayly  describing  his  bold  and 
gallant  service  as  "  burning  the  Spanish  king's  beard." 
But  surely  this  may  well  be  forgiven  to  the  hero  who,  de- 
laying the  threatened  Armada  for  a  year,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  its  final  discomfiture.  *  Nor  were  Drake's  eminent 
services  to  his  country  limited  to  warlike  operations.  In 
the  short  interval  of  leisure  which  followed  this  expedition 
he  brought  water  into  the  town  of  Plymouth,  of  which  it 
was  in  great  want,  from  springs  eight  miles  distant,  and  by 
a  course  measuring  more  than  twenty  miles. 

In  the  following  year  his  distinguished  services  received 
the  reward  to  which  they  were  fully  entitled,  in  his  ap- 
pointment of  vice-admiral  under  Lord  Charles  Howard  of 
Effingham,  high- admiral  of  England. 

*  So  keenly  were  the  deeds  of  Drake  resented  by  the  court  of  Spain 
even  before  this  great  stroke  at  the  maritime  power  and  strength  of  that 
country,  that,  when  terror  was  presumed  to  be  struck  into  the  very  heart 
of  the  nation,  and  the  queen  quailing  with  dismay,  expecting  the  formi- 
dable armament  every  day  to  put  to  sea,  the  Spanish  ambassador  had  the 
temerity  to  propound  terms  for  her  acceptance,  wrapped  up,  in  the  pe- 
dantic fashion  of  the  time,  in  Latin  verses,  which  are  thus  translated : — 
"  These  to  you  are  our  commands  : 
Send  no  help  to  the  Netherlands. 
Of  the  treasure  took  by  DA.KK 
Restitution  you  must  make  ; 
And  those  abbeys  build  anew 
Which  your  father  overthrew." 

To  this  insolent  demand  the  lion-hearted  Protestant  princess  replied  ia 
the  same  vein  :— 

"  Worthy  king,  know  this  your  will 
At  Lattar  Lammas  we'll  fulfil." 


THE    INVINCIBLE    ARMADA.  117 

Drake  had  hitherto  been  accustomed  to  give  orders,  not 
to  obey  them  ;  and  his  vivacity  under  command  had  nearly 
been  productive  of  serious  consequences.  Positive  infor- 
mation had  been  received  of  the  sailing  of  the  Invincible 
Armada,  but  it  was  likewise  known  that  the  fleet  had 
been  dispersed  in  a  violent  tempest ;  and,  believing  that 
the  attempt  would  be  abandoned  at  this  time,  orders  were 
despatched  to  the  lord-high-admiral  to  send  four  of  his 
best  ships  back  to  Chatham,  as  the  frugal  government  of 
Elizabeth  grudged  the  expense  of  keeping  them  afloat  an 
hour  longer  than  they  were  positively  required.  This 
order  had  hardly  been  given,  when  Howard  was  made 
aware  by  the  information  of  Thomas  Fleming,  the  captain 
of  an  English  pinnace,*  of  the  close  approach  of  the  fleet ; 
and  it  soon  after  passed  Plymouth,  where  he  lay  taking  in 
supplies  after  cruising  on  the  Spanish  coasts  looking  out 
for  it.  It  was  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  July,  1588, 
when  the  intelligence  of  Fleming  put  the  lord-high-admiral 
upon  the  alert ;  and  by  next  day  at  noon  his  ships  were 
manned,  warped  out,  and  in  fighting  trim.  At  the  same 
hour  the  Spanish  fleet  came  in  sight ;  and  on  the  21st, 
Howard,  with  his  greatly  inferior  force,  ventured  the  attack 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  the  valour  and  skill 
of  the  English,  was  continued  from  day  to  day  in  various 
quarters,  till  the  proud  Armada  was  swept  from  the  Eng- 
lish channel.  On  the  night  of  the  21st,  Drake,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  carry  the  lantern,  forgot  this  duty,  and 
gave  chase  to  several  hulks  which  were  separated  from 
the  fleet,  and  thus  so  far  misled  the  high-admiral,  that, 
following  the  Spanish  lantern  under  the  idea  that  it  was 
carried  by  his  own  vice-admiral,  when  day  dawned  he 
found  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy's  ships.  The 
high-admiral  instantly  extricated  himself ;  and  Drake  am- 
ply atoned  for  this  oversight  by  the  distinguished  service 
performed  by  his  squadron  in  harassing,  capturing,  and 
destroying  the  Spaniards.  On  the  day  following  this  err- 
ing night  he  performed  a  memorable  action.  Among  the 

*  The  honour  of  giving  this  important  intelligence  is  claimed  for 
Scotland,  to  which  country  Fleming,  who  only  followed  the  example 
of  his  betters  in  plundering  on  the  high  seas,  is  said  to  have  belonged. 
At  the  instance  of  Howard  the  queen  granted  him  a  pardon,  and  also  a 
pension  for  the  notable  service  he  had  performed. 


118        EXPEDITION    WITH    SIR    JOHN    NORRIS. 

fleet  was  a  large  galleon  commanded  by  Don  Pedro  de 
Valdez,  a  man  of  illustrious  family  and  high  official  rank, 
with  whom  nearly  fifty  noblemen  and  gentlemen  sailed. 
His  ship  had  been  crippled  arid  separated  from  the  fleet, 
and  Howard,  in  hot  pursuit,  had  passed  it,  imagining  that 
it  was  abandoned.  There  was  on  board  a  crew  of  450 
persons ;  who,  when  summoned  to  surrender  in  the  for- 
midable name  of  Drake,  attempted  no  resistance.  Kissing 
the  hand  of  his  conqueror,  Don  Pedro  said,  they  had  re- 
solved to  die  in  battle,  had  they  not  experienced  the  good 
fortune  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  one  courteous  and 
gentle,  and  generous  to  the  vanquished  foe  ;  one  whom  it 
was  doubtful  whether  his  enemies  had  greater  cause  to 
admire  and  love  for  his  valiant  and  prosperous  exploits,  or 
dread  for  his  great  wisdom  and  good  fortune  ;  whom  Mars, 
the  god  of  war,  and  Neptune,  the  god  of  the  sea,  alike 
favoured.  To  merit  this  high  eulogium,  Drake  behaved 
with  the  utmost  kindness  and  politeness  to  his  involuntary 
guests,  who  were  sent  prisoners  to  England.  Two  years 
afterward  he  received  3500/.  for  their  ransom.  In  the  ship 
55,000  ducats  were  found,  and  liberally  divided  among  the 
crew.  The  broken  running  fight  between  the  fleets  was 
renewed  from  day  to  day,  and  from  hour  to  hour,  as  the 
superior  sailing  of  the  light  English  vessels  promised  ad- 
vantage, till  the  Spaniards  were  driven  on  that  line  of 
conduct  which  ended  in  the  complete  destruction  of  their 
mighty  armament.  In  the  fight  of  the  29th,  which  was 
desperate  on  both  sides,  Drake's  ship  was  pierced  with 
forty  shot,  two  of  which  passed  through  his  cabin.  Of 
134  ships  which  left  the  coast  of  Spain  only  53  returned. 

In  the  following  year  Drake,  as  admiral,  commanded 
the  fleet  sent  to  restore  Don  Antonio  of  Portugal,  while 
Sir  John  Norris  led  the  land-forces.  Differences  arose 
between  the  commanders  about  the  best  mode  of  prosecut- 
ing their  joint  enterprise.  The  failure  of  Norris's  scheme 
gives  probability  to  the  assertion  that  the  plan  of  operations 
suggested  by  Drake  would,  if  followed,  have  been  success- 
ful. It  is  at  least  certain  that  the  expedition  miscarried, 
which  had  never  happened  to  any  single-handed  under- 
taking in  which  Drake  engaged.  Don  Antonio,  taken  out 
to  be  made  a  king  by  the  prowess  of  the  English,  returned 
as  he  went.  Before  the  queen  and  council  Drake  fully 


EXPEDITION    WITH    SIR    JOHN    HAWKINS.      119 

justified  his  own  share  of  the  affair,  and  the  confidence 
placed  in  his  ability  and  skill  remained  undiminished.  This 
was  the  first  check  that  the  fortunes  of  Drake  had  ever  re- 
ceived,— and  it  would  have  been  happy  for  him,  it  has 
been  said,  had  he  now  withdrawn  his  stake.  The  prin- 
cipal and  fatal  error  of  his  succeeding  expedition  was  once 
more  undertaking  a  joint  command. 

The  war  in  1595,  though  it  languished  for  want  of  fuel 
to  feed  the  flame,  was  not  yet  giving  any  prospect  of  draw- 
ing to  a  conclusion ;  and,  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John 
Hawkins,  Drake  offered  his  services  in  an  expedition  to 
the  West  Indies,  to  be  undertaken  on  a  scale  of  magnifi- 
cence which  must  at  once  crush  the  Spanish  power  in 
that  quarter,  where  the  enemy  had  already  been  so  often 
and  effectually  galled  by  the  same  commanders.  Elizabeth 
and  her  ministers  received  the  proposal  with  every  mark  of 
satisfaction.  The  fleet  consisted  of  six  of  the  queen's 
ships  and  twenty-one  private  vessels,  with  a  crew,  in  sea- 
men and  soldiers,  amounting  to  2500  men  and  boys. 
They  sailed  from  Plymouth  in  August,  having  been  de- 
tained for  some  time  by  the  reports  of  another  armada 
being  about  to  invade  England.  This  rumour  was  art- 
fully spread  to  delay  the  fleet,  of  which  one  object  was 
*lmown  to  be  the  destruction  of  Nombre  de  Dios  and  the 
plunder  of  Panama.  They  had  hardly  put  to  sea  when  the 
demon  of  discord,  which  ever  attends  conjunct  expeditions, 
appeared  in  their  councils.  Sir  John  Hawkins  wished  at 
once  to  accomplish  an  object  recommended  by  the  queen  ; 
but  time  was  lost  in  an  attempt,  suggested  by  Sir  Thomas 
Baskerville,  to  invade  or  capture  the  Canaries,  and  again 
at  Dominica.  All  these  delays  were  improved  by  the 
enemy  in  the  colonies,  in  preparing  for  the  reception  of 
the  English.  A  few  days  before  sailing,  information  had 
been  sent  to  the  fleet  of  a  Spanish  galleon  richly  laden, 
that  had  been  disabled  and  separated  from  those  ships 
which  annually  brought  plate  and  treasure  from  the  Indies 
to  Spain  ;  and  the  capture  of  this  vessel  was  recommended 
to  the  commanders  by  the  English  government  as  an 
especial  service.  The  galleon  now  lay  at  Porto  Rico ;  but 
before  this  time  five  frigates  had  been  sent  by  the  Spaniards 
to  convey  it  away  in  safety.  On  the  30th  October,  Sir 
John  Hawkins  made  sail  from  the  coast  of  Dominica 


120  ATTEMPT    AGAINST    PORTO    RICO. 

where  the  ships  had  been  careened,  and  had  taken  in 
water  ;  and  on  the  same  evening  he  sustained  the  misfor- 
tune of  having  the  Francis,  one  of  his  vessels,  captured 
by  the  enemy's  frigates.  This  stroke,  which  appeared 
fatal  to  the  enterprise,  by  informing  the  Spaniards  of  his 
approach  and  putting  them  on  their  guard,  gave  him  inex- 
pressible chagrin.  He  immediately  fell  sick,  and  on  the 
12th  November,  when  the  fleet  had  got  before  Porto  Rico, 
died  of  combined  disease  and  grief.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Sir  Thomas  Baskerville,  who  took  command  in  the 
Garland,  the  queen's  ship  in  which  Hawkins  had  *;ulr(l. 
The  English  fleet,  meditating  an  instant  attack,  now  lay 
within  reach  of  the  guns  of  Porto  Rico  ;  and  while  the 
officers,  on  the  night  of  Sir  John  Hawkins's  death,  were  at 
supper  together,  a  shot  penetrated  to  the  great  cabin,  drove 
|he  stool  en  which  Drake  sat  from  under  him,  killed  Sir 
Nicolas  Clifford,  and  mortally  wounded  Mr.  Brute  Browne 
and  some  other  officers.  An  attack,  this  night  decided 
upon,  was  attempted  next  clay,  with  tin-  valour 

which  has  ever  characterized  the  maritime  assaults  of  the 
English.  But  the  enemy  were  fully  prepared  ;  the  treas- 
ure had  been  carefully  conveyed  away,  and  also  the 
women  and  children.  The  fortifications  had  been  repaired 
and  placed  in  good  order  ;  and  though  the  hot  impetuous 
attack  of  the  English  inflicted  great  suffering  on  the  Span- 
iards, to  themselves  there  remained  but  a  barren  victory. 
After  lying  two  or  three  days  before  the  place,  it  was 
judged  expedient  to  bear  off  and  abandon  this  enterprise. 
They  stood  for  the  main,  where  Rio  de  la  Hacha,  La  Ran- 
cheria,  and  some  other  places  were  taken,  and,  negotia- 
tions for  their  ransom  failing,  burnt  to  the  ground.  The 
same  course  was  followed  with  other  petty  places  ;  but 
Drake  began  seriously  to  find,  that  while  giving  the  enemy 
this  trifling  annoyance,  he  was  gradually  reducing  his  own 
force  without  gaining  any  substantial  advantage.  His 
health  was  injured  by  this  series  of  disappointments,  and 
from  the  first  misunderstanding  with  Hawkins  his  spirits 
had  been  affected.  On  the  morning  of  the  assault  on  Porto 
Rico,  in  taking  leave  of  Mr.  Brute  Browne,  then  breathing 
his  last,  he  exclaimed,  "  Brute,  Brute,  how  heartily  could 
I  lament  thy  fate,  but  that  I  dare  not  suffer  my  spirits  to 
sink  now." 


DEATH  OF  SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE.      121 

The  Spanish  towns,  from  which  every  thing  of  value 
was  taken  away,  were  rather  abandoned  to  the  occupation 
than  taken  by  the  arms  of  the  English.  In  this  way  Santa 
Martha  and  Nombre  de  Dies  fell  into  their  hands  with 
scarce  a  show  of  resistance.  They  were  both  burnt.  On 
the  29th  December,  two  days  after  the  capture  of  Nombre 
de  Dios,  Sir  Thomas  Baskerville,  with  750  soldiers,  at- 
tempted to  make  his  way  to  Panama  through  the  fatiguing 
and  dangerous  passes  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  the  Span- 
iards annoying  his  whole  line  of  march  by  a  desultory  fire 
of  musketry  from  the  woods.  At  certain  passes  fortifica- 
tions had  been  thrown  up  to  impede  their  progress  ;  and 
coming  upon  these  unexpectedly,  they  were  exposed  to  a 
sudden  fire,  by  which  many  fell.  About  midway  the  design 
was  abandoned,  and  the  party  turned  back,  still  exposed  in 
the  retreat  to  the  fire  of  the  Spaniards  from  the  woods. 
Destitute  of  provisions,  and  suffering  great  privation  and 
fatigue,  they  returned  to  the  ships  depressed  and  disheart- 
ened. This  last  and  most  grievous  of  the  train  of  disap- 
pointments that  had  followed  Drake  throughout  an  expe- 
dition from  which  the  nation  expected  so  much,  and  wherein 
he  had  embarked  much  of  his  fortune  and  risked  his  high 
reputation,  threw  the  admiral  into  a  lingering  fever,  accom- 
panied by  a  flux,  under  which  he  languished  for  three 
weeks.  He  expired  while  the  fleet  lay  off  Porto  Bello. 
The  death  of  Admiral  Drake  took  place  on  the  28th  Janu- 
ary, 1596,  and  in  his  fifty-first  year.  His  remains  were 
placed  in  a  leaden  coffin,  and  committed  to  the  deep  with 
all  the  pomp  attending  naval  obsequies.  Unsuccessful  as 
his  latest  enterprises  had  been,  his  death  was  universally 
lamented  by  the  nation.  The  tenderness  of  pity  was  now 
mingled  with  admiration  of  the  genius  and  valour  of  this 
great  man,  "whose  memory  will  survive  as  long  as  the 
world  lasts,  which  he  first  surrounded." 

Drake  is  described  as  low  in  stature,  but  extremely  well 
made  ;  with  a  broad  chest  and  a  round  compact  head.  His 
complexion  was  fair  and  sanguine ;  his  countenance  open 
and  cheerful,  with  large  and  lively  eyes  ;  his  beard  full,  and 
his  hair  of  a  light  brown.  The  portrait  prefixed  to  this 
volume  gives  the  idea  of  a  man  of  that  prompt  and  decided 
character  which  Sir  Francis  Drake  discovered  in  every 
action  of  his  life.  From  the  lowest  point  and  rudiments 
L 


122      HIS  CHARACTER  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES. 

of  his  art,  Drake  was  a  thorough-bred  seaman,  able  in  his 
own  person  to  discharge  every  duty  of  a  ship,  even  to  at- 
tending the  sick  and  dressing  the  wounded.  In  repairing 
and  watering  his  ships,  as  readily  as  in  what  are  esteemed 
higher  offices,  he  at  all  times  bore  an  active  part ;  and  to 
his  zealous  superintendence  and  co-operation  in  these  sub- 
ordinate duties,  much  of  the  facility  and  celerity  of  his 
movements,  and  of  his  consequent  success,  is  to  be  attrib- 
uted. The  sciences  connected  with  navigation,  as  they 
were  then  known,  he  thoroughly  understood,  and  particu- 
larly that  of  astronomy.  Whatever  he  attempted  on  his 
own  judgment,  without  being  controlled  by  the  opinions  of 
others,  he  accomplished  with  success.  He  has  been  charged 
with  ambition  ;  but  it  is  well  remarked,  that  no  man's  am- 
bition ever  took  a  happier  direction  for  his  country.  His 
example  did  more  to  advance  the  maritime  power  and  repu- 
tation of  England  than  that  of  all  the  navigators  who  pre- 
ceded him.  He  indicated  or  led  the  way  to  several  new 
sources  of  trade,  and  opened  the  career  of  commercial 
prosperity  which  his  countrymen  are  still  pursuing.* 
Among  the  many  natural  gifts  of  this  lowly-born  seaman 
was  a  ready  and  graceful  eloquence.  He  was  fond  of 
amassing  wealth,  but  in  its  distribution  was  liberal  and 
bountiful.  Among  other  deeds  of  enlightened  benevolence 
was  his  establishment,  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John  Haw- 
kins, of  the  CHEST  at  Chatham  for  the  relief  of  aged  or  sick 
seamen,  by  the  honourable  means  of  their  own  early  provi- 
dence. Drake  sat  in  two  parliaments, — in  the  first  for  a 
Cornish  borough,  and  in  the  next  for  the  town  of  Plymouth 
in  the  35th  of  Elizabeth.  Though  often  described  as  a 
bachelor,  it  is  ascertained  that  he  married  the  daughter  and 
sole  heiress  of  Sir  George  Sydenham,  of  Coombe  Syden- 
ham  in  Devonshire,  who  survived  him.  He  left  no  children, 
but  bequeathed  to  his  nephew  Francis  Drake,  afterward 
created  a  baronet  by  James  the  First,  his  landed  estate, 

*  Camden  styles  Sir  Francis  Drake  the  author  of  our  East  India  trade, 
as  the  journals,  sea-charts,  draughts,  &c.  which  he  found  in  the  St. 
Philip,  afforded  that  information  to  government,  and  to  the  English  mer- 
chants, which  led  to  the  immediate  opening  of  the  trade,  and  to  the 
establishment  of  that  mighty  thing  called  "Tmc  COMPANY."  The  first 
voyage  undertaken  by  the  English  to  the  East  Indies  was  conducted  by 
Captain  Lancaster  and  Captain  Raymond  in  1591,  tbe  same  year  in  which 
Cavendish  made  his  second  voyage  to  the  South  Sea. 


POLICY  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH.  123 

which  was  considerable.  Three  quarters  of  the  globe  had 
contributed  to  its  acquisition ;  yet  there  is  certainly  no 
ancient  family  estate  in  the  south  of  England  of  the  title- 
deeds  of  which  the  proprietors  have  less  cause  to  be 
ashamed,  than  that  still  held  by  the  heirs  of  the  son  of  the 
honest  mariner  of  Tavistock. 


CAVENDISH. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Voyage  round  the  World. 

Policy  of  Queen  Elizabeth— Public  Spirit  of  the  English  Nobility- 
Ancestry  of  Cavendish — His  Voyage  to  Virginia — Equipment  of  his 
Squadron — Discovery  of  Port  Desire— Colony  of  Pedro  Sarmiento — 
Misery  of  New  Settlers — Sarmiento  made  Prisoner — Natives  of  the 
Straits— Indian  Tributaries  of  Santa  Maria— Escape  of  Tome  Her- 
nandez—A Watering  Party  cut  off— Capture  of  Spanish  Ships— Use 
of  Torture  by  Cavendish— Paita  stormed — Cacique  of  Puna — Skir- 
mish with  the  Spaniards— March  into  the  Woods — Progress  of  the 
Squadron — Capture  of  the  Santa  Anna. 

THE  reign  of  Elizabeth  is  by  nothing  more  honourably 
distinguished  than  the  manliness  and  dignity  which  charac- 
terized the  pursuits  of  her  courtiers,  and,  through  their  ex- 
ample, those  of  the  entire  body  of  the  English  gentry.  A 
period  illustrious  in  the  national  annals  owes  much  of  its 
glory  and  felicity  to  this  single  cause.  To  the  queen  her- 
self belongs  the  praise  of  having,  during  her  long  reign, 
studiously  kept  alive  the  flame  of  public  spirit ;  and  of  hav- 
ing striven,  by  her  influence  and  public  acts,  to  inspire  the 
flower  of  the  youth  of  her  kingdom  with  that  ardent  thirst 
of  glory  which  in  so  many  ways  redounded  to  the  national 
advantage.  Distinguished  personal  merit,  whether  dis- 
played in  the  field  or  at  the  council-board,  was  the  certain 
road  to  the  favour  of  Elizabeth ;  and  though  her  favourites 


124  RISE    OF  ENGLISH  NAVAL  POWER. 

might  have  possessed  very  different  degrees  of  moral  worth, 
all  of  them  were  celebrated  for  ability  or  patriotism.*  It 
was  thus,  in  the  age  of  Elizabeth,  nothing  unusual  for  men 
of  the  highest  rank  to  devote  their  private  fortunes  and  per- 
sonal services  to  the  advancement  of  the  national  interests, 
either  by  undertaking  or  promoting  voyages  of  discovery, 
establishing  colonies,  opening  up  new  branches  of  trade, 
or  protecting  the  state  against  the  aggressions  of  the  Span- 
iards. At  that  period  it  was  considered  as  nothing  wonder- 
ful that  the  Earls  of  Essex  and  Cumberland,  and  such  men 
as  Raleigh,  Dudley,  Grenville,  Gilbert,  and  many  other 
persons  of  family  and  condition,  should,  in  pursuit  of 
honourable  distinction,  court  fatigue  and  hardship,  from 
which  their  degenerate  successors,  in  the  reigns  of  the 
Stuarts,  would  have  shrunk  in  dismay. 

*  The  attention  paid  by  Elizabeth  to  the  rising  marine  and  the  com- 
merce of  her  kingdom  has  often  been  the  subject  of  extravagant  pane- 
gyric. The  subjoined  discourse  of  Purchas  is  a  curiosity,  were  it  only 
for  its  high-flown  style.  "The  English  Deborah''  is  thus  addressed : 
"  Thou  wast  indeed  the  mother  of  English  sea-greatness ;  and  didst  first 
(by  thy  generals)  not  salute  alone,  but  awe  and  terrify  the  remotest  East 
and  West ;  stretching  thy  long  and  strong  arms  to  India,  to  China,  to 
America,  to  the  Peruvian  seas,  the  Califomian  coast,  and  New  Albion's 
sceptres.  Thou  madest  the  northern  Muscovite  admire  thy  greatness. 
Thou  gavestname  to  the  north-west  straits ;  and  the  southern  negroes, 
and  islands  of  the  south  unknown  continent,  which  knew  not  humanity, 
were  compelled  to  know  thee.  Thou  embracedst  the  whole  earthly 
globe  in  thy  maritime  arms  ;  thou  freedest  England  from  Easterlingst 
and  Lombards'  borrowed  legs  ;  and  taughtst  her,  not  only  to  stand  and 
go  without  help,  but  to  become  help  to  out  friends,  and  with  her  own 
sea- forces  to  stand  against,  yea,  to  stand  upon  and  stamp  under  her 
feet  the  proudest  of  her  foes.  Thou  wast  a  mother  to  thy  neighbours, 
Scots,  French,  Dutch ;  a  mirror  to  the  remotest  nations.  Great  Cumber- 
land's twelve  voyages  before  recited  are  thine,  and  the  fiery  vigour  of 
his  martial  spirit  was  kindled  at  thy  bright  lamp,  and  quickened  by  the 
great  spirit  of  Elizabeth.  Drake,  Cavendish,  John  and  Richard  Haw- 
kins, Raleigh,  Dudley,  Shirley,  Preston,  Grenville,  Lancaster,  Wood, 
Raymond,  Levison,  Monson,  Winter,  Frobisher,  Davis,  and  other  star- 
worthies  of  England's  sphere,  whose  planet-courses  we  have  before 
related,  all  acknowledge  Eliza's  orb  to  be  their  first  and  highest  mover." 
For  the  credit  of  Master  Purchas's  independence  it  must  be  noticed  that 
"glorious  Elizabeth"  was  by  this  time  beyond  the  reach  of  flattery. 

t  By  Easterlings  are  meant  the  people  of  theHanse  Towns :  and  we 
presume  that  by  "  Easterlings  and  Lombards'  borrowed  legs,"  this  quaint 
writer  signifies  that  the  carrying  trade  of  England,  which  had  hitherto 
been  enjoyed  by  the  shipping  of  the  Italians  and  the  people  of  the  United 
Provinces,  was  now,  by  the  policy  of  Elizabeth,  secured  to  the  English. 


ANCESTRY  OF  CAVENDISH.         125 

Of  this  class  was  Thomas  Cavendish,  the  second  Eng- 
lishman that  circumnavigated  the  globe.  He  was  of  an 
ancient  and  honourable  family  of  Suffolk,  the  ancestor  of 
which  had  come  into  England  with  the  Conqueror.  The 
residence  of  Cavendish,  or  Candish,  as  the  name  was  then 
written,  was  at  Trimley  St.  Martin ;  and  his  estates  lay 
near  Ipswich,  at  that  period  a  place  of  considerable  trade. 
From  this  vicinage  to  a  maritime  town  he  is  said  to  have 
imbibed  an  early  inclination  to  the  sea. 

His  father  died  while  Cavendish  was  still  a  minor ;  and 
coming  early  into  the  possession  of  his  patrimony,  he  is 
reported  to  have  squandered  it  "  in  gallantry,  and  following 
the  court,"  and  to  have  been  compelled  to  embrace  the 
nobler  pursuits  to  which  his  subsequent  years  were  devoted 
to  redeem  his  shattered  fortunes.  Truth  may  lie  between 
the  contradictory  statements  of  the  motives  which  deter- 
mined this  gentleman  to  follow  the  career  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  in  seeking  fortune  and  reputation  on  the  western 
shores  of  America  and  in  the  South  Sea. 

Though  the  relations  of  his  voyages  are  ample  and  com- 
plete, the  truth  is,  that  very  little  is  known  of  the  personal 
history  of  Cavendish.  In  the  year  1585,  he  accompanied 
Sir  Richard  Grenville's  expedition  to  Virginia,  in  a  vessel 
equipped  at  his  own  expense.*  This  voyage,  undertaken 
to  plant  the  unfortunate  colony  which  was  brought  home 
by  Sir  Francis  Drake  in  1586  (see  p.  115),  was  both  profit- 
less and  difficult;  but  it  enabled  Cavendish  to  obtain 
nautical  experience,  and  in  its  progress  he  had  seen  the 
Spanish  West  India  settlements,  and  conversed  with  some 
of  those  who  had  accompanied  Drake  into  the  South  Sea. 
The  youthful  ambition  of  Cavendish  was  thus  roused  to 
emulate  the  glory  of  so  eminent  a  navigator  in  this  rich  and 
newly-opened  field  of  enterprise. 

Grenville's  fleet,  which  sailed  for  Virginia  in  April,  re- 
turned in  October,  and  from  the  wrecks  of  his  fortune,  and 
the  remains  of  his  credit,  Mr.  Cavendish,  in  six  months 
afterward,  had  equipped  a  small  squadron  for  his  pro- 
jected voyage.  While  the  carpenters  were  at  work  he 

*  Some  accounts  say  this  was  the  Tiger ;  but  this  could  not  have 
been,  as  the  Tiger  was  the  admiral's  ship,  from  which  Cavendish  was 
separated  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  which  he  did  not  rejoin  till  the  fleet 
had  reached  the  West  indies. 

L2 


126      HIS  FIRST  VOYAGE  TO  THE  SOUTH  SEA. 

procured  every  draught,  map,  chart,  and  history  of  former 
navigations  that  might  be  useful  to  him  ;  and  having, 
through  the  patronage  or  recommendation  of  Lord  Huns- 
don,  procured  the  queen's  commission,  he  sailed  from  Ply- 
mouth on  the  21st  July,  1586.  His  light  squadron  con- 
sisted of  the  Desire,  a  vessel  of  120  tons  burthen,  in  which 
he  sailed  himself  as  admiral  and  commander  of  the  expedi- 
tion ;  the  Content  of  60  tons  ;  and  the  Hugh  Gallant,  a 
light  bark  of  40  tons.  A  crew  of  123  soldiers,  seamen,  and 
officers  manned  this  little  fleet,  which  was  provided  with 
every  requisite  for  a  long  voyage,  in  latitudes  with  which 
the  navigation  of  Drake  had  now  made  the  English  some- 
what familiar. 

If  so  much  interest  is  still  awakened  by  the  maritime 
undertakings  of  contemporary  navigators,  who  set  out  in  a 
familiar  track  under  the  guidance  of  former  experience  and 
observation,  with  the  advantage  of  instruments  nearly  per- 
fect, and  with  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot,  how  much 
more  must  attach  to  the  relation  of  the  adventures  of  one 
who,  like  Cavendish,  could  have  no  hope  or  dependence 
save  in  his  own  capacity  and  courage  ! 

The  squadron  first  touched  at  Sierra  Leone,  where  the 
conduct  of  the  young  commander  was  not  wholly  blameless. 
On  a  Sunday  part  of  the  ships'  company  went  on  shore, 
and  spent  the  day  in  dancing  and  amusing  themselves  with 
the  friendly  negroes,  their  secret  object  being  to  gain  intel- 
ligence of  a  Portuguese  vessel  that  lay  in  the  harbour,  and 
which  Cavendish  intended  to  capture.  This  was  found 
impracticable,  and  next  day  the  English  landed  to  the 
number  of  seventy,  and  made  an  attack  on  the  town,  of 
which  they  burnt  150  houses,  almost  the  whole  number,  and 
plundered  right  and  left.  It  was  but  little  that  they  found. 
The  negroes  fled  at  their  landing,  but  on  their  retreat  shot 
poisoned  arrows  at  the  marauders  from  the  shelter  of  the 
woods.  This  African  village  is  described  as  neatly  built, 
enclosed  by  mud  walls,  and  kept,  both  houses  and  streets, 
in  the  cleanest  manner.  The  yards  were  paled  in,  and  the 
town  was  altogether  trim  and  comfortable,  exhibiting  signs 
of  civilization,  of  which  at  this  point  the  slave-trade  subse- 
quently destroyed  every  trace.  A  few  days  afterward  a 
party  of  the  sailors  landed  to  wash  linen  ;  and  repeating 
the  visit  next  day,  a  number  of  negroes  lying  in  ambush 


DISCOVERY  OF  PORT  DESIRE.  127 

ih  the  woods  nearly  surprised  and  cut  them  off.  A  soldier 
died  of  a  shot  from  a  poisoned  arrow ;  though  the  case  as 
described  appears  more  like  mortification  of  the  parts  than 
the  effects  of  poison.  Several  of  the  men  were  wounded, 
but  none  mortally  save  the  soldier.  On  the  3d  of  September 
a  party  went  some  miles  up  the  river  in  a  boat,  caught  a 
store  of  fish,  and  gathered  a  supply  of  lemons  for  the  fleet, 
which  sailed  on  the  6th.  No  reason  is  assigned  for  the 
unprovoked  devastation  on  this  coast,  save  "  the  bad  deal- 
ing of  negroes  with  all  Christians." 

On  the  16th  December  the  squadron  made  the  coast  of 
America,  in  47$°  S.  The  land,  stretching  west,  was  seen 
at  the  distance  of  six  leagues,  and  next  day  the  fleet  an- 
chored in  a  harbour  in  48°  S.  This  harbour  they  named 
Port  Desire,  in  honour  of  the  admiral's  ship.  Seals  were 
found  here  of  enormous  size,  which  in  the  forepart  of  their 
body  resembled  lions  ;*  their  young  was  found  delicate 
food,  equal,  to  the  taste  of  the  seamen,  to  lamb  or  mutton. 
Sea-birds  were  also  found  in  great  plenty,  of  which  the 
description  given  seems  to  apply  to  the  penguin.  In  this 
excellent  harbour  the  ships'  bottoms  were  careened.  On 
the  24th  December,  Christmas-eve,  a  man  and  boy  belong- 
ing to  the  Content  went  on  shore  to  wash  their  linen, 
when  they  were  suddenly  surrounded  and  shot  at  by  fifty 
or  more  Indians.  Cavendish  pursued  with  a  small  party,  but 
the  natives  escaped.  "  They  are  as  wild  as  ever  was  a  buck," 
says  an  old  voyager,  "  as  they  seldom  or  ever  see  any 
Christians."  Their  footprints  were  measured,  and  found 
to  be  eighteen  inches  in  length.f  The  squadron  left  Port 
Desire  on  the  28th,  and  halted  at  an  island  three  leagues 
off,  to  cure  and  store  the  penguins  that  had  been  taken. 
On  the  30th,  standing  to  sea,  they  passed  a  rock  about  fifty 

*  In  the  voyage  of  the  Dutch  navigators  T,e  Maire  and  Schouten,  who 
anchored  in  Port  Desire  about  thirty  years  after  Cavendish,  these  ani- 
mals are  described  as  sixteen  feet  long ;  they  could  only  be  killed  by 
shooting  them  in  the  belly  or  the  head,  their  skins  not  being  penetrable 
in  other  parts. 

t  The  crew  of  Le  Maire  and  Schouten,  when  their  fleet  lay  here, 
opened  some  of  the  graves,— or  more  properly  removed  the  heaps  which 
in  elevated  points,  on  the  summits  of  hills  and  rocks,  were  laid  above 
the  dead,  according  to  the  practice  of  burial  among  these  tribes,  and 
found  human  skeletons,  as  they  allege,  often  and  eleven  feet  in  length. 
The  sculls  covered  the  Dutchmen's  heads  as  helmets,  so  much  larger 
were  they  in  size  than  the  sculls  of  Europeans. 


128  MAGELLAN'S  STRAITS — SPANISH  COLONY. 

miles  from  the  harbour  they  had  left,  which  resembled  the 
Eddystone  Rock  near  Plymouth.  About  the  first  day  of 
the  year  they  saw  several  capes,  to  which  no  names  are 
given,  and  on  the  6th,  without  further  preparation,  entered 
Magellan's  Straits,  which  the  Spaniards  had  lately  attempted 
to  fortify  and  colonize.  At  twilight  the  squadron  anchored 
near  the  first  Angostura ;  and  in  the  night  lights  were  ob- 
served on  the  north  side  of  the  strait,  which  were  supposed 
to  be  signals.  Recognition  was  made  by  lights  from  the 
ships,  and  a  boat  was  sent  off  in  the  morning,  to  which 
three  men  on  the  shore  made  signs  by  waving  a  handker- 
chief. These  were  part  of  the  survivors  of  a  wretched 
Spanish  colony. 

The  history  of  the  misfortunes  and  sufferings  of  the  first 
settlers  in  different  parts  of  America  would  make  one  of 
the  most  melancholy  volumes  that  ever  was  penned  ;  nor 
could  any  portion  of  it  prove  more  heart-rending  than  that 
which  should  record  the  miseries  of  this  colony,  left  by 
Pedro  Sarmiento  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  It  may  be 
recollected,  that  on  the  appearance  of  Drake  on  the  coast 
of  Peru,  this  commander  was  despatched  by  the  viceroy  to 
intercept  the  daring  interloper  on  his  return  by  the  straits. 
Sarmiento  afterward  bestowed  much  pains  in  examining 
the  western  shores  of  Patagonia  and  the  coast  of  Chili, 
and  the  many  inlets,  labyrinths,  and  intricate  channels  of 
the  islands  and  broken  lands  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  which, 
as  he  conjectured,  must  communicate  with  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  by  one  or  more  passages.  After  a  long  time  had 
thus  been  consumed  fruitlessly  he  entered  the  straits,  and 
passed  through  eastward  in  about  a  month,  minutely  ex- 
amining the  coast  on  both  sides.  When  this  discoverer 
reached  Spain,  his  exaggerated  statements,  the  desire  of 
checking  the  progress  of  the  English  in  this  quarter,  and 
an  apprehension  that  they  were  preparing  to  seize  this 
master-key  to  the  South  Seas  (the  passage  by  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  being  still  monopolized  by  the  Portuguese,  and 
that  by  Cape  Horn  not  yet  discovered),  induced  Philip  to 
listen  to  the  proposals  of  Sarmiento,  an  enthusiast  in  the 
cause,  and  to  colonize  and  fortify  this  important  outlet  of 
his  American  dominions.  A  powerful  armament  of  23 
ships,  with  3500  men,  destined  for  different  points  of  South 
America,  was  in  the  first  place  to  establish  the  new  colony. 


ILL  FORTUNE    OF   SARMIENTO.  129 

This  expedition,  undertaken  on  so  magnificent  a  scale,  was 
from  first  to  last  unfortunate.  While  still  on  the  coast  of 
Spain,  from  which  the  fleet  sailed  on  the  25th  September, 
1581,  five  of  the  ships  were  wrecked  in  a  violent  gale,  and 
800  men  perished.  The  whole  fleet  put  back,  and  sailed 
a  second  time  in  December.  Misfortunes  followed  in  a 
thick  train.  Sickness  thinned  their  numbers  ;  and  at  Rio 
Janeiro,  where  they  wintered,  many  of  the  intended  settlers 
deserted.  Some  of  the  ships  became  leaky,  the  bottoms  of 
others  were  attacked  by  worms,  and  a  large  vessel,  contain- 
ing most  of  the  stores  of  the  colonists  of  the  straits,  sprung 
a  leak  at  sea,  and  before  assistance  could  be  obtained  went 
down,  330  men  and  twenty  of  the  settlers  perishing  in  her. 
Three  times  was  Sarmiento  driven  back  to  the  Brazils  be- 
fore he  was  able  to  accomplish  his  purpose ;  and  it  was 
February,  1584,  before  he  at  last  arrived  in  the  strait  and 
was  able  to  land  the  colonists.  Nor  did  his  ill  fortune 
close  here.  His  consort,  Riviera,  either  wilfully  abandoned 
him,  or  was  forced  from  his  anchorage  by  stress  of  weather. 
He  stood  for  Spain,  carrying  away  the  greater  part  of  the 
remaining  stores  which  were  to  sustain  the  people  through 
the  rigour  of  the  winter  of  the  south,  which  was  now  com- 
mencing, and  until  they  were  able  to  raise  crops  and  ob- 
tain provisions.  The  foundation  of  a  town  was  laid,  which 
was  named  San  Felipe  ;  and  bastions  and  wooden  edifices 
were  constructed.  Another  city,  named  Nombre  de  Jesus, 
was  commenced.  These  stations  were  in  favourable  points 
of  the  straits,  and  at  the  distance  of  about  seventy  miles 
from  each  other.  In  the  mean  while  the  southern  winter 
set  in  with  uncommon  severity.  In  April  snow  fell  inces- 
santly for  fifteen  days.  Sarmiento,  who,  after  establishing 
the  colonists  at  these  two  points,  intended  to  go  to  Chili 
for  provisions,  was  driven  from  his  anchors  in  a  gale,  and 
forced  to  seek  his  own  safety  in  the  Brazils,  leaving  the 
settlers  without  a  ship.  He  has  been  accused  of  intention- 
ally abandoning  this  helpless  colony,  which  he  was  the  in- 
strument of  establishing,  and  of  which  he  was  also  the  gov- 
nor.  The  accusation  appears  unjust,  as  he  made  many 
subsequent  efforts  for  its  relief,  which  his  ill  fortune  ren- 
dered abortive.  The  governors  at  the  different  settlements 
at  length  refused  to  afford  further  assistance  to  a  project 
which  had  lost  the  royal  favour ;  and  in  returning  to  Spain 


130  MISERY    OF    THE    SETTLERS. 

to  solicit  aid,  Sarmiento  was  captured  by  three  ships 
belonging  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, — luckily,  in  all  proba- 
bility, for  himself,  as  the  indignation  of  King  Philip  at  the 
failure  of  so  expensive  and  powerful  an  expedition,  and  at 
the  misrepresentations  of  this  officer,  might  not  have  been 
easily  appeased.*  Of  the  wretched  colonists,  about  whom 
neither  old  Spain  nor  her  American  settlements  gave  them- 
selves any  further  trouble,  many  died  of  famine  and  cold 
during  the  first  winter.  The  milder  weather  of  the  spring 
and  summer  allowed  a  short  respite  of  misery,  and  afforded 
the  hope  of  the  return  of  Sarmiento,  or  some  ship  with 
provisions  and  clothing.  But  the  year  wore  away,  and  no 
vessel  appeared,  and  the  colonists  at  San  Felipe,  in  their 
despair,  contrived  to  build  two  boats,  in  which  all  that  re- 
mained alive,  fifty  men  and  five  women,  embarked,  with 
the  hope  of  getting  out  of  the  straits.  One  of  their  boats 
was  wrecked,  and  the  design  was  abandoned,  as  there  were 
no  seamen  among  their  number,  nor  any  one  capable  of 
conducting  the  perilous  navigation.  Their  crops  all  failed  ; 
the  natives  molested  them  ;  and  out  of  four  hundred  men 
and  thirty  women  landed  by  Sarmiento,  only  fifteen  men 
and  three  women  survived  when  Mr.  Cavendish  entered 
the  straits.  In  San  Felipe  many  lay  dead  in  their  houses 
and  in  their  clothes,  the  survivors  not  having  strength  to 
bury  them ;  and  along  the  shores,  where  these  miserable 
beings  wandered,  trying  to  pick  up  a  few  shellfish  or  herbs, 
they  often  came  upon  the  body  of  a  deceased  companion 
who  had  perished  of  famine,  or  of  the  diseases  caused  by 
extreme  want. 

It  was,  as  has  been  said,  part  of  these  forlorn  wanderers 
whom  Cavendish  saw  on  the  morning  after  he  entered  the 
straits.  A  passage  to  Peru  was  offered  them,  but  they  at 
first  hesitated  to  trust  the  English  heretics ;  though  after- 
ward, when  willing  to  accept  the  generous  offer,  their  reso- 
lution came  too  late  ;  and  before  they  could  be  mustered,  a 
fair  wind  offering,  Cavendish  sailed  on,  having  tantalized 
these  wretched  Spaniards  with  hopes  which  the  safety  of 


*  It  is  said  that  Queen  Elizabeth  ordered  the  captive  governor  of  the 
straits  to  be  presented  to  her,  that  she  conversed  with  him  in  Latin,  and 
gave  him  his  freedom  and  1000  crowns  to  convey  him  into  Spain.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  was  some  years  before  he  ibund  his  way  back. 


THE  FLEET  ENTERS  THE  SOUTH  SEA.          131 

his  own  crew  in  this  precarious  navigation,  and  the  success 
of  his  expedition,  did  not  permit  him  to  fulfil.  The  offer 
had  likewise  been  made  in  ignorance  of  their  numbers.  If 
Cavendish  be  blamed  for  abandoning  these  wretched  vic- 
tims to  their  fate,  what  shall  be  said  of  the  nation  which, 
having  sent  out  this  colony,  left  it  to  perish  of  famine  and 
cold  !  One  Spaniard  was  brought  off,  named  Tome'  Her- 
nandez, who  became  the  historian  of  the  miserable  colony 
of  the  straits. 

The  squadron  of  Cavendish,  after  passing  both  the  An- 
gosturas, as  the  Spaniards  named  the  narrowest  points  of 
the  straits,  anchored  first  at  the  island  of  Santa  Magdalena, 
where  in  two  hours  they  killed  and  salted  two  pipes  full  of 
penguins  ;  and  afterward  at  San  Felipe,  the  now  desolate 
station  of  the  Spanish  colonists,  some  of  whom  the  Eng- 
lish found  still  lying  in  their  houses,  "  where  they  had  died 
like  dogs."  Here  they  brought  on  board  six  pieces  of  ord- 
nance which  the  settlers  had  buried.  This  place  Cavendish 
named  Port  Famine  ;  it  was  found  to  be  in  53°  S.  On  the 
22d  a  few  natives  were  seen ;  but  the  Spaniard,  Hernan- 
dez, cautioned  the  English  against  all  intercourse,  repre- 
senting them  as  a  treacherous  people, — a  character  which 
European  knives  and  swords  seen  in  their  possession, 
converted  into  darts,  confirmed  ;  and  when  they  again  ap- 
proached, Cavendish  carried  his  precautions  to  so  extrava- 
gant a  length  as  to  order  a  discharge  of  muskets,  by  which 
many  of  them  were  killed,  and  the  rest  took  to  flight,  cer- 
tainly not  corrected  of  their  bad  propensities  by  this  harsh 
discipline.  They  were  represented  as  cannibals,  who  had 
preyed  upon  the  Spanish  colonists,  and  this  excused  all 
wrong. 

For  the  next  three  weeks  the  fleet  lay  in  a  sheltered 
port,  unable  to  enter  the  South  ea  from  a  continuance  of 
strong  westerly  wind  ;  but  on  the  24th  February,  after  a 
favourable  though  a  tedious  passage,  they  finally  emerged 
from  the  straits.  To  the  south  was  a  fair  high  cape  with 
a  point  of  low  land  adjoining  it, — on  the  other  side  several 
islands  with  much  broken  ground  around  them,  at  about 
six  leagues  off  from  the  mainland.  On  the  1st  of  March 
the  stormy  Spirit  of  the  Straits,  which  no  fleet  ever  wholly 
escaped,  overtook  Cavendish ;  and  the  Hugh  Gallant  was 
separated  from  the  larger  vessels,  one  of  which  was  found 


132    MOCHA SANTA  MARIA BAY  OF  QUINTERO. 

so  leaky  that  the  crew  were  completely  exhausted  in  work- 
ing the  pumps  for  three  days  and  nights  without  ceasing. 
On  the  15th  the  Hugh  Gallant  rejoined  her  consorts  at  the 
Isle  of  Mocha,  on  the  coast  of  Chili :  they  were  here  taken 
for  Spaniards,  and  landing  on  the  main  experienced  but  a 
rough  reception  from  the  Indians,  who  bore  no  good-will  to 
the  natives  of  Spain.  But  a  similar  mistake  sometimes 
operated  to  their  advantage  ;  and  next  day,  when  the  cap- 
tain with  a  party  of  seventy  men  landed  at  the  island  of 
Santa  Maria,  they  were  received  as  Spaniards,  with  all 
kindness  and  humility,  by  the  principal  people  of  the 
island ;  and  a  store  of  wheat,  barley,  and  potatoes,  ready 
prepared,  and  presumed  by  the  voyagers  to  be  a  tribute  to 
the  conquerors,  was  unscrupulously  appropriated.  To  this 
the  islanders  added  presents  of  hogs,  dried  dogfish,  fowls, 
and  maize,  and  received  in  return  an  entertainment  on 
board  the  captain's  ship.  These  Indians  are  represented 
as  being  in  such  subjection,  that  not  one  of  them  durst  eat 
a  hen  or  hog  of  his  own  rearing,  all  being  sacred  to  their 
taskmasters,  who  had,  however,  made  the  whole  of  the 
islanders  Christians.  When  they  came  to  understand  that 
their  guests  were  not  Spaniards,  it  was  believed  that  they 
attempted  to  invite  them  to  an  assault  upon  their  enslavers ; 
but  for  want  of  an  interpreter  their  meaning  was  imper- 
fectly comprehended.  The  squadron,  thus  refreshed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Spaniards,  sailed  on  the  18th,  but  overshot 
Valparaiso,  at  which  place  they  intended  to  halt.  On  the 
30th  they  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Quintero,  seven  leagues 
to  the  north  of  Valparaiso.  A  herdsman  asleep  on  a  hill- 
side awaking,  and  perceiving  three  strange  ships  in  the 
bay,  caught  a  horse  grazing  beside  him,  and  fled  to  spread 
the  alarm.  Cavendish,  unable  to  prevent  this  untoward 
movement,  landed  with  a  party  of  thirty  men,  and  Hernan- 
dez, the  Spaniard  whom  he  had  brought  from  the  straits, 
and  who  made  strong  protestations  of  fidelity.  Three 
armed  horsemen  appeared,  as  if  come  to  reconnoitre.  With 
these  Hernandez  conferred,  and  reported  that  they  agreed 
to  furnish  as  much  provision  as  the  English  required.  A 
second  time  the  interpreter  was  despatched  to  a  conference ; 
but  on  this  occasion,  forgetting  all  his  vows  of  fidelity  to 
his  benefactors,  he  leaped  up  behind  one  of  his  country- 
men, and  they  set  off  at  a  round  gallop,  leaving  Cavendish 


MORRO  MORENO.  133 

to  execrate  Spanish  bad  faith.  The  English  filled  some 
of  their  watercasks,  and  attempted  in  vain  to  obtain  a  shot 
at  the  wild  cattle,  which  were  seen  grazing  in  great  herds. 
Next  day  a  party  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  marched  into  the 
interior  in  the  hope  of  discovering  some  Spanish  settle- 
ment. They  did  not  see  one  human  being,  native  nor 
European,  though  they  travelled  till  arrested  by  the  moun- 
tains. The  country  was  fruitful  and  well  watered  with 
rivulets,  and  abounded  in.  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  and 
with  hares,  rabbits,  and  many  kinds  of  wild-fowl.  They 
also  saw  numerous  wild  dogs.  The  party  did  not  sleep  on 
shore.  The  boats  were  sent  next  day  for  water,  which 
was  found  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  beach.  While  the 
seamen  were  employed  in  filling  the  casks,  they  were 
suddenly  surprised  by  a  party  of  200  horsemen,  who  came 
pouncing  down  upon  them  from  the  heights,  and  cut  off 
twelve  of  the  party,  some  of  whom  were  killed,  and  the 
rest  made  prisoners.  The  remainder  were  rescued  by  the 
soldiers,  who  ran  from  the  rocks  to  support  their  unsus- 
pecting comrades,  and  killed  twenty-four  of  the  Spaniards. 
Notwithstanding  this  serious  misadventure,  Cavendish, 
keeping  strict  watch  and  ward,  remained  here  till  the 
watering  was  completed.  Of  the  nine  prisoners  snatched 
off  in  this  affray,  it  was  afterward  learned  that  six  were 
executed  at  Santiago  as  pirates,  though  they  sailed  with 
the  queen's  commission,  and  though  the  nation  to  which 
they  belonged  was  at  open  war  with  Spain. 

The  discipline  which  the  Spaniards  had  taught  the  na- 
tives was  again  found  of  use  to  our  navigators,  who,  after 
leaving  Quintero,  came  on  the  15th  to  Morro  Moreno,  or 
the  Brown  Mountain,  where  the  Indians,  on  their  landing, 
met  them  with  loads  of  wood  and  water,  which  they  had 
carried  on  their  backs  down  the  rocks.  These  slaves  of 
the  Spaniards  were  found  to  be  a  very  degraded  race, 
almost  at  the  lowest  point  in  the  scale  of  civilization. 
Their  dwellings  consisted  of  a  few  sticks  placed  across 
two  stakes  stuck  in  the  ground,  on  which  a  few  boughs 
were  laid.  Skins  spread  on  the  floor  gave  a  higher  idea 
of  comfort.  Their  food  consisted  of  raw  putrid  fish  ;  yet 
their  fishing-canoes  were  constructed  with  considerable  in- 
genuity. They  were  made  of  skins  "  like  bladders."  Each 
boat  consisted  of  two  of  these  skins,  which  were  inflated 
M 


134  CAPTURE  OF  SPANISH  VESSFJS 


by  means  of  quills,  and  sewed  or  laced  together  with  gut, 
so  as  to  be  perfectly  water-tight.  In  these  they  fished, 
paying  large  tribute  of  their  spoils  to  their  conquerors. 
When  any  one  died,  his  bows  and  arrows,  canoes,  and  all 
his  personal  property,  were  buried  along  with  him,  as  the 
English  verified  by  opening  a  grave. 

On  the  23d  a  vessel,  with  a  cargo  of  Spanish  wine,  was 
captured  near  Arica,  and  also  a  small  bark,  the  crew  of 
which  escaped  in  their  boat.  This  vessel  was  permanently 
added  to  the  squadron,  and  named  the  George.  Another 
large  ship,  captured  in  the  road  of  Arica,  proved  but  a 
worthless  prize,  the  cargo  having  been  previously  taken 
away,  and  the  ship  deserted  by  the  crew.  A  design  of 
landing  and  storming  the  town  was  abandoned,  as,  before 
the  squadron  could  be  mustered,  the  Spaniards  were  ap- 
prized of  their  danger,  and  prepared  to  stand  on  the  defen- 
sive. A  third  vessel  was  taken  close  by  the  town ;  and 
the  English  squadron  and  the  batteries  even  exchanged  a 
few  harmless  shots ;  after  which  Cavendish,  in  hopes  of 
relieving  some  of  the  English  prisoners  made  at  Quintero, 
sent  in  a  flag  of  truce  inviting  the  Spaniards  to  redeem 
their  vessels  ;  but  proposals  of  this  nature  were,  by  order 
of  the  viceroy  at  Lima,  in  all  cnses  rejected. 

On  the  25th,  while  the  squadron  still  rode  before  the 
town,  a  vessel  from  the  southward  was  perceived  coming 
into  the  port.  Cavendish  sent  out  his  pinnace  to  seize  this 
bark,  while  the  townspeople  endeavoured  from  the  shore 
to  make  the  crew  sensible  of  their  danger.  They  under- 
stood the  signals,  and  rowed  in  among  the  rocks,  while  a 
party  of  horsemen  advanced  from  the  town  to  protect  the 
crew  and  passengers.  Among  these  were  several  monks, 
who  had  a  very  narrow  escape.  The  deserted  vessel,  when 
searched,  afforded  nothing  of  value ;  and,  burning  their 
prizes,  early  on  the  26th  they  bore  away  northward  from 
Arica.  Next  day  a  small  vessel,  despatched  from  Santiago 
with  intelligence  to  the  viceroy  that  an  English  squadron, — 
probably  Drake  himself, — was  upon  the  coast,  was  cap- 
tured. Great  severity  was  used  to  make  the  crew  reveal 
the  nature  of  their  despatches,  which  were  thrown  over- 
board while  the  English  £jave  chase.  They  had  solemnly 
sworn  not  to  tell  their  errand  ;  but  their  fidelity  was  barely 
proof  against  the  torture  to  which  Cavendish  thought  it 


PAITA    STORMED.  135 

hecessary  to  subject  them  to  extort  their  secret.  An  old 
Fleming,  whom  he  threatened  to  hang,  and  actually  caused 
to  be  hoisted  up,  stood  the  test,  and  chose  rather  to  die 
than  to  perjure  himself  by  Betraying  his  trust.*  At  last 
one  of  the  Spaniards  confessed  ;  and,  burning  the  vessel, 
Cavendish  carried  the  crew^along  with  him,  as  the  safest 
way  to  prevent  tale-telling.  In  this  vessel  was  found  a 
Greek  pilot  well  acquainted  with  the  coast  of  Chili. 

On  the  3d  May  they  landed  at  a  small  Spanish  town, 
where  they  obtained  a  supply  of  bread,  wine,  figs,  and  fowls. 
This  cruise  was  continued  for  a  fortnight,  and  several 
prizes  were  made,  from  which  needful  supplies  were  ob- 
tained ;  but  none  that  afforded  the  species  of  wealth  which 
the  captors  valued.  On  the  20th  they  landed  at  Paita,  to 
the  amount  of  seventy  men,  took  the  town,  drove  out  the 
inhabitants,  and  continued  the  pursuit  till  they  came  to 
the  place  whither  the  townspeople  had  conveyed  their 
most  valuable  goods.  Here  they  found  25  pounds  of  silver, 
with  other  costly  commodities.  Cavendish,  however,  ex- 
pecting an  attack,  had  the  prudence  not  to  allow  his  men 
to  encumber  themselves  with  much  spoil  on  their  return  to 
the  ships.  The  town,  which  was  regularly  built  and  very 
clean,  consisted  of  200  houses.  It  was  burnt  to  the  ground, 
with  goods  to  the  value  of  five  or  six  thousand  pounds.  A 
ship  in  the  harbour  was  also  burnt,  and  the-  fleet  held  a 
course  northward,  and  anchored  at  the  island  of  Puna  in  a 
good  harbour.  A  Spanish  sloop  of  250  tons  burthen,  which 
they  found  here,  was  sunk.  They  landed  forthwith  at  the 
dwelling  of  the  cacique,  who  was  found  living  in  a  style  of 
elegance  and  even  magnificence  rarely  seen  among  the 
native  chiefs.  His  house  stood  near  the  town,  by  the 
water's  edge,  and  contained  many  handsome  apartments, 

*  This  is  sufficiently  revolting.  The  mode  of  torture  employed  by 
Cavendish  was  somewhat  similar  to  what  in  Scotland  was  called  the 
thunibikins.  He  caused  the  prisoners  "to  be  tormented  with  their 
thumbs  in  a  winch,  and  to  continue  them  at  several  times  with  extreme 
pain."  In  palliation  of  the  cruelty  employed  by  Cavendish,  we  must 
recollect  that  torture  was  still  sometimes  judicially  employed  in  England. 
In  the  Letters  illustrative  of  English  History,  lately  published  by  Mr. 
Ellis,  there  is  a  copy  of  a  warrant  o"  the  maiden  queen,  which  was 
found  in  the  handwriting  of  Lord  Burkigh,  ordering  two  servants  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk  to  be  threatened  with  the  rack,  and  failing  threats,  if 
they  still  persisted  in  fidelity  to  their  master,  "  to  find  the  taste  thereof." 


136  CACIQUE  OF  PUNA. 

with  verandas  commanding  fine  prospects  seawnrd  and 
landward.  The  chief  had  married  a  beautiful  Spanish 
woman,  who  was  regarded  as  the  queen  of  the  island. 
She  never  set  her  foot  upon  the  ground,  holding  it  "  too 
low  a  tiling  for  her,"  but^vas  carried  abroad  on  men's 
shoulders  in  a  sort  of  palanquin,  with  a  canopy  to  shelter 
her  from  the  sun  and  wind,  and  attended  by  native  ladies 
and  the  principal  men  of  the  island.  The  cacique  and  his 
lady  fled  on  the  first  approach  of  the  English,  carrying  with 
them  100,000  crowns,  which,  from  the  information  of  a 
captive  scout,  were  ascertained  to  have  been  in  their  pos- 
session. Induced  by  the  information  of  the  Indian  cap- 
tive, Cavendish  landed  on  the  main  with  an  armed  party, 
intending  to  surprise  the  fugitives  ;  but  they  once  more 
fled,  leaving  the  meat  roasting  at  their  fires,  and  their 
treasures  could  not  be  discovered.  In  a  small  neighbouring 
island  the  cacique  had  previously  for  safety  deposited  his 
most  valuable  furniture  and  goods,  consisting  of  hangings 
of  Cordovan  leather,  richly  painted  and  gilded,  with  the 
tackling  of  ships,  nails,  spikes,  &c.,  of  which  the  English 
took  a  large  supply.  At  Puna  sail-cloth  of  sea-grass  was 
manufactured  for  the 'use  of  the  ships  in  the  South  Sea. 
The  island  was  about  the  size  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and 
contained  several  towns, — the  principal  one,  near  which 
was  the  cacique's  palace,  consisted  of  200  houses,  with  a 
large  church.  This  the  English  burnt  down,  carrying 
away  the  bells. 

The  Indian  chief  of  Puna  had  been  baptized  previous  to 
his  marriage,  and  the  Indians  were  all  obliged  to  attend 
mass.  Adjoining  the  dwelling  of  the  cacique  was  a  fine 
garden  laid  out  in  the  European  style,  with  a  fountain.  In 
it  were  cotton-plants,  fig-trees;  pomegranates,  and  many 
varieties  of  herbs  and  fruits.  An  orchard,  with  lemons, 
oranges,  &c.,  ornamented  the  other  side  of  this  pleasant 
dwelling,  the  under  part  of  which  consisted  of  a  large  hall, 
in  which  goods  of  all  kinds  were  promiscuously  stored. 
Cattle  and  poultry  were  seen  in  great  abundance,  with 
pigeons,  turkeys,  and  ducks  of  unusual  size.  Though  the 
general  both  from  personal  observation  and  report  was  aware 
that  a  force  was  to  be  sen',  against  him  from  Guayaquil,  he 
hauled  up  his  ship  to  have  her  bottom  cleaned,  keeping  vigi- 
lant watch  in  the  chief's  house,  where  the  English  had 
established  their  head-quarters. 


SKIRMISH    WITH    THE    SPANIARDS.  137 

The  ship  was  again  afloat,  and  the  squadron  about  to  sail, 
tvhen,  by  one  of  those  mischances  which  prove  the  danger 
of  indulging  for  a  single  moment  in  false  security,  the  Eng- 
lish suffered  a  severe  loss.  On  the  2d  of  June,  before 
weighing  anchor,  a  party  were  permitted  to  straggle  about 
the  town  to  amuse  themselves  and  forage  for  provisions. 
Thus  scattered,  they  were  suddenly  assailed  in  detached 
groups  by  a  hundred  armed  Spaniards ;  and  of  the  twenty 
thus  dispersed  seven  were  killed,  three  made  prisoners,  and 
two  drowned,  while  eight  escaped.  Forty-six  Spaniards 
and  Indians  fell  in  this  skirmish.  Cavendish  immediately 
landed  with  an  armed  band,  drove  the  Spanish  soldiers  from 
the  town,  and  burnt  it  completely  down,  together  with  four 
ships  then  building.  He  also  destroyed  the  gardens  and 
orchards.  Persisting  in  maintaining  his  ground,  Cavendish 
next  day  laid  up  the  other  ship  to  be  careened,  and  did  not 
sail  till  the  5th,  when  they  went  to  Rio  Dolce,  where  they 
watered.  Here,  they  sunk  the  Hugh  Gallant,  all  the  hands 
being  now  required  for  the  other  vessels.  They  also  sent 
on  shore  their  Indian  prisoners,  and,  without  touching  at 
any  other  land,  held  a  northerly  course  for  nearly  a  month. 
On  the  9th  July  they  captured  a  new  ship  of  120  tons, 
which,  first  taking  awny  her  ropes  and  sails,  they  imme- 
diately burnt.  In  this  vessel  was  a  Frenchman,  Michael 
Sancius,  who  gave  information  of  the  Manilla  ship  then  ex- 
pected from  the  Philippines.  This  was  a  prize  worth  look- 
ing after ;  and  they  were  so  far  fortunate  as  to  intercept  a 
small  bark  sent  to  give  her  warning.  On  the  27th,  by  day- 
break, they  entered  the  harbour  of  Guatulco,  and  burnt  the 
town,  the  church,  and  custom-house,  in  which  was  found  a 
quantity  of  die-stuffs  and  cocoas.  Some  trifling  adventures 
marked  the  following  day,  in  which  they  by  mistake  over- 
sailed  Acapulco.  Landing  at  Puerto  de  Navidad,  they  burnt 
two  ships,  each  of  200  tons,  then  on  the  stocks,  and  made 
prisoner  a  mulatto  who  carried  letters  of  advice  of  their  pro- 
gress along  the  coast  of  New  Gallicia.  In  this  manner  they 
proceeded  northward,  often  landing  small  detachments,  and 
spreading  alarm  along  the  shores.  On  the  8th  they  came 
into  the  bay  of  Chaccalla  (supposed  Compostella),  described 
as  being  18  leagues  from  Cape  de  los  Corrientes,  and  to  a 
harbour  presumed  to  be  that  known  in  modern  geography 
ne  San  Bias.  Next  morning  an  officer  with  forty  men,  and 
M2 


138       PROGRESS  OF  THE  SQUADRON. 

Michael  Sancius  as  their  conductor,  marched  two  leagues 
into  the  interior,  by  "  a  most  villanous  and  desert  path 
through  the  woods  and  wilderness,"  and  came  to  a  place 
where  they  found  three  Spanish  families,  a  carpenter  of  the 
same  nation,  a  Portuguese,  and  a  few  Indians.  Their  or- 
dinary mode  of  proceeding  on  such  occasions  is  told  in  few 
words  : — "  We  bound  them  all,  and  made  them  to  come  to 
the  seaside  with  us."  The  general,  however,  set  the  women 
free  ;  and  on  their  bringing  to  the  ships  a  supply  of  pine- 
apples, lemons,  and  oranges,  allowed  their  husbands  to  de- 
part, as  there  was  nothing  to  be  obtained  from  them.  The 
carpenter  and  the  Portuguese  were  kept,  and  next  day  the 
fleet  sailed.  On  the  12th  September  they  reached  the  isle 
of  St.  Andrew,  where  they  laid  in  a  store  of  wood  and  of 
dried  and  salted  wild-fowl.  Seals  were  also  found  and  igua- 
nas,— a  species  "  of  serpent  with  four  feet  and  a  long  sharp 
tail,  strange  to  them  who  have  not  seen  them,"  but  which, 
nevertheless,  made  very  palatable  food  to  the  keen  appetites 
of  seamen.  In  their  frequent  exigencies  these  hard 
agers  never  scrupled  to  act  upon  the  opinion  of  the  old 
Symeron  chief  in  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  When  Drake, 
with  the  natural  disgust  of  an  Englishman,  showed  some 
tokens  of  aversion  to  otter's  flesh,  the  Indian  is  reported  to 
have  thus  addressed  him : — "  Are  you  a  warrior,  and  in 
want,  and  yet  doubt  if  that  be  food  which  hath  blood  in  it  ]" 

On  the  24th  September  they  put  into  the  Bay  of  Mazat- 
lan,  and  at  an  island  a  league  to  the  northward  careened 
the  ships,  new-built  the  pinnace,  and  by  digging  deep  in  the 
sands  found  water,  of  which  they  stood  much  in  need;  as 
without  this  seasonable  supply  they  must  have  been  com- 
pelled to  turn  back,  and  thus  might  have  missed  their  prey. 

The  squadron  sailed  from  this  island  on  the  night  of  the 
9th  October  for  the  Cape  of  St.  Lucas,  which  was  made  on 
the  14th.  Here  they  lay  in  wait  for  the  anticipated  prize, 
cruising  about  the  headland,  without  going  far  on0,  till  the 
4th  of  November,  on  the  morning  of  which  day  the  trum- 
peter from  the  masthead  descried  a  sail  bearing  in  for  the 
cape.  Chase  was  immediately  given,  and  continued  for 
some  hours,  when  the  English  came  up  with  the  Santa 
Anna,  gave  her  a  broadside,  poured  in  a  volley  of  musketry, 
and  prepared  to  board.  The  attempt  was  bravely  repelled 
by  the  Spaniards,  who  courageously  repulsed  the  assailants 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  SANTA  ANNA.      139 

with  the  loss  of  two  men  killed  and  five  wounded.  The 
most  formidable  weapons  of  the  Spaniards  were  stones, 
which,  from  behind  their  protecting  barricades,  they  hurled 
upon  the  boarders.  "  But  we  new-trimmed  our  sails,"  says 
the  early  relation,  "  and  fitted  every  man  his  furniture,  and 
gave  them  a  fresh  encounter  with  our  great  ordnance,  and 
also  with  our  small  shot,  raking  them  through  and  through 
to  the  killing  and  wounding  of  many  of  their  men.  Their 
captain  still,  like  a  valiant  man,  with  his  company  stood 
very  stoutly  into  his  close  fights,  not  yielding  as  yet.  Our 
general,  encouraging  his  men  afresh  with  the  whole  voice 
of  trumpets,  gave  them  the  other  encounter  with  our  great 
ordnance  and  all  our  small  shot,  to  the  great  discouragement 
of  our  enemies,  raking  them  through  in  divers  places,  kill- 
ing and  wounding  many  of  their  men.  They  being  thus 
discouraged  and  spoiled,  and  their  ship  being  in  hazard  of 
sinking  by  reason  of  the  great  shot  which  were  made, 
whereof  some  were  under  water,  within  five  or  six  hours' 
fight  sent  out  a  flag  of  truce  and  parleyed  for  mercy,  desir- 
ing our  general  to  save  their  lives  and  to  take  their  goods, 
and  that  they  would  presently  yield.  Our  general  of  his 
goodness  promised  them  mercy,  and  called  them  to  strike 
their  sails,  and  to  hoise  out  their  boat,  and  come  on  board ; 
which  news  they  were  full  glad  to  hear  of,  and  presently 
struck  their  sails,  hoisted  out  their  boat,  and  one  of  their 
chief  merchants  came  on  board  unto  our  general,  and,  fall- 
ing down  upon  his  knees,  offered  to  have  kissed  our  gene- 
ral's feet,  and  craved  mercy.  Our  general  graciously  par- 
doned both  him  and  the  rest,  upon  promise  of  their  true  deal- 
ing with  him  and  his  company  concerning  such  riches  as 
were  in  the  ship  ;  and  sent  for  their  captain  and  pilot,  who 
at  their  coming  used  the  like  duty  and  reverence  as  the  for- 
mer did.  The  general,  out  of  his  great  mercy  and  human- 
ity, promised  their  lives  and  good  usage." 

The  Santa  Anna  was  a  prize  worth  the  trouble  bestowed 
in  securing  her.  She  was  of  700  tons  burden,  and  the  prop- 
erty of  the  King  of  Spain.  Besides  a  rich  cargo  of  silks, 
satins,  damasks,  wine,  preserved  fruits,  musk,  &c.,  there 
were  on  board  122,000  pesos  in  gold.  The  provision  made 
for  the  passengers  was  also  of  the  best  kind,  and  afforded 
luxuries  to  the  English  ships'  companies  to  which  they  had 
hitherto  been  strangers.  Cavendish  carried  his  prize  into 


140  FATE    OF    THE    PRISONERS. 

a  bay  within  Cape  St.  Lucas,  named  by  the  Spaniards 
Aguada  Segura,  or  The  Safe  Watering-place,  where  he 
landed  the  crew  and  passengers  to  the  number  of  a  hundred 
and  ninety  persons,  among  whom  were  some  females. 

The  captain-general  deemed  it  impolitic  to  allow  these 
persons  to  proceed  direct  to  New  Spain,  and  the  place  on 
which  he  landed  them  afforded  water,  wood,  fish,  fowl,  and 
abundance  of  hares  and  rabbits.  He  presented  them  with 
part  of  the  ship's  stores,  with  wine,  and  with  the  sails  of 
their  dismantled  vessel,  to  construct  tents  for  their  shelter. 
He  also  gave  the  seamen  weapons  for  their  defence  against 
the  natives,  and  planks,  of  which  they  might  build  a  bark  to 
convey  the  whole  party  to  the  settlements. 

Among  the  passengers  by  the  Santa  Anna  were  two  lads, 
natives  of  Japan,  who  could  both  read  and  write  their  own 
language,  and  three  boys  from  Manilla.*  These,  with  a 
Portuguese  who  had  been  in  Canton,  the  Philippines,  and 
the  islands  of  Japan,  Cavendish  carried  with  him,  and  also 
a  Spanish  pilot. 

The  division  of  the  spoils  occasioned  great  discontent, 
particularly  among  the  crew  of  the  vice-admiral's  ship,  who 
imagined  that  Cavendish  favoured  the  company  of  the  De- 
sire. But  the  dissatisfaction  was  apparently  suppressed, 
and  by  the  17th  November,  "the  queen's  day,"  all  business 
being  completed,  a  few  hours  were  devoted  by  the  loyal 
English  to  gayety  and  festivity ;  and  a  discharge  of  the 
great  guns  and  a  display  of  fireworks  proclaimed  to  these 
lonely  shored  the  glory  of  Elizabeth  of  England.  As  the 
completion  of  their  rejoicing,  the  Santa  Anna,  with  all  of  her 
goods  that  could  not  be  stowed  into  the  English  ships,  was 
set  on  fire,  and  left  burning ;  and  firing  a  parting  salute  to 
the  descrtedt  Spaniards,  the  Desire  and  the  Content  bore 

*  An  Indian  boy  as  a  page  was  at  that  period  a  mark  of  almost  regal 
splendour.  The  youngest  of  these  boys,  a  child  about  ten,  was  on  the 
return  of  the  expedition  presented  to  the  Countess  of  Essex  as  an 
attendant. 

t  The  fate  of  the  Spaniards  left  on  this  part  of  California  affords  a  re- 
markable instance  of  the  kindness  of  Providence.  The  same  place  had 
formerly  been  abandoned  by  a  colony  planted  by  Cortes,  from  the  settlers 
not  being  able  to  obtain  sustenance;  and  the  persons  now  left  were 
even  more  helpless  than  the  first  colonists.  Though  the  coast  was  nei- 
ther steril  nor  yet  ungenial  in  climate,  many  of  them  must  have  perished 
before  they  could  have  been  able  to  build  aWssel  large  enough  to  carry 
vwo  humu-ed  persons  to  Acapuko.  Their  mode  of  deliverance  was  sin- 


COURSE    ACROSS    THE    PACIFIC.  141 

away  for  England,  which,  before  they  could  again  arrive  at, 
so  much  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe  must  be  trav- 
ersed. Before  coming  to  St.  Lucas,  the  George,  the  Span- 
ish prize,  had  been  abandoned;  and  now,  in  coming  out  <>; 
the  bay,  the  Content  lagged  astern,  and  was  never  again 
seen  by  her  consort.* 

The  Desire,  thus  left  alone,  as  the  Golden  Hind  had  been 
before  her,  holding  her  solitary  course  across  the  Pacific,! 
on  the  3d  January,  1588,  came  in  sight  of  Guahan,  one  ci 
the  Ladrones.  For  forty-five  days  the  English  had  enjoyed 
fair  winds,  and  had  sailed  a  distance  roughly  estimated  at 
between  seventeen  and  eighteen  hundred  leagues.  When 
within  five  or  six  miles  of  Guahan,  fifty  or  more  canoes  full 
of  people  came  off  to  meet  the  ship,  bringing  the  commodi- 
ties with  which  they  were  now  in  the  habit  of  supplying  the 
Spaniards,  namely,  fish,  potatoes,  plantains,  and  cocoas, 
which  were  exchanged  for  pieces  of  iron.  This  traffic  was 
plied  so  eagerly  that  it  became  troublesome ;  and  Caven- 
dish, who  was  never  distinguished  for  patience  or  forbear- 
ance, with  five  of  his  men,  fired  to  drive  the  natives  back 
from  the  ship.  They  dived  so  nimbly  to  evade  the  shot, 
that  it  could  not  be  ascertained  what  execution  was  done. 
The  people  here  were  of  tawny  complexion,  corpulent,  and 
of  taller  stature  than  ordinary-sized  Englishmen.  Their 

gular.  The  English  left  the  Santa  Anna  burnt  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  still  in  flames  when  they  sailed.  In  a  short  time  the  fire  freed 
her  from  her  anchors,  and  the  flood-tide  drifted  her  still  burning  into  the 
bay,  where  the  Spaniards  were  able  to  extinguish  the  conflagration  just 
in  time  to  save  so  much  of  the  hull  of  this  large  ship  as  with  slight  refit- 
ting proved  an  ark  for  their  deliverance. 

*  No  trace  of  this  ship  remains  in  any  contemporary  relation  so  far  as 
we  have  seen.  It  is  imagined  that  the  company,  who  were  dissatisfied 
with  Cavendish,  might  have  resolved  to  desert  him  and  return  by  the 
straits,  and  that  they  might  have  perished  in  the  attempt.  Another  and 
equally  probable  conjecture  was,  that  they  had  attempted  the  north-west 
passage.  This  at  least,  as  we  afterward  incidentally  learn,  seems  to 
have  been  the  opinion  of  the  Spanish  pilot,  who  was  compelled  to  return 
to  the  Indies  in  the  Desire. 

t  In  the  library  of  the  Middle  Temple  there  is,  or  lately  was,  a  globe, 
constructed  in  1603,  at  the  cost  of  William  Sanderson,  in  which  the 
course  of  Cavendish  across  the  Pacific  is  laid  down.  It  is  to  be  recol- 
Jected  that  he  now  had  on  board  a  Spanish  pilot  accustomed  to  make  the 
voyage  between  Acapulco  and  the  Philippines,  touching  at  the  Ladrones, 
where  water  and  refreshments  were  found.  The  course  described  on 
this  globe  is  from  Cape  St.  Lucas  S.  W.  till  the  latitude  is  decreased  to 
between  12°  and  13°  N. ;  after  which  the  course  is  due  west  to  the  La* 
drones. 


142  THE    WEALTH    OF    MANILLA. 

hair  was  long,  but  some  wore  it  tied  up  in  one  or  two  knots 
on  the  crown  of  the  head.  The  construction  of  their  canoes 
greatly  excited  the  admiration  of  the  English  seamen, 
formed,  as  they  were,  without  any  "edge-tool."  These 
canoes  were  from  six  to  seven  yards  in  length,  but  very 
narrow,  and  moulded  in  the  same  way  at  prow  and  stern. 
They  had  square  and  triangular  sails  of  cloth  made  of  bul- 
rushes, and  were  ornamented  with  head  figures  carved  in 
wood,  *'  like  unto  images  of  the  Devil."  They  appeared  in 
the  canoes  entirely  naked,  and  were  dexterous  divers  and 
excellent  swimmers. 

On  the  1 1th  January  the  Desire  made  Cape  Spirito  Santo, 
the  first  point  of  the  Philippines  which  was  seen ;  and  on 
the  same  night  entered  the  strait  now  named  the  Strait  of 
San  Bernardino.  Next  morning  they  came  to  anchor  in  a 
fine  bay  and  safe  harbour  in  the  island  then  named  Capul. 
Though  the  Spanish  settlement  at  Manilla  was  still  com- 
paratively recent,  it  had  risen  and  flourished  so  rapidly  that 
it  was  already  become  a  place  of  great  wealth  and  commer- 
cial importance.  Besides  the  annual  fleet  to  New  Spain,  it 
possessed  a  very  considerable  trade  with  China  and  the  In- 
dian islands  in  the  most  valuable  commodities.  The  people 
with  whom  Manilla  enjoyed  this  trade,  and  particularly  a 
people  they  name  the  Sanguelos,  are  described  by  the  voy- 
agers as  "of  great  genius  and  invention  in  handicrafts  and 
sciences ;  every  one  so  expert,  perfect,  and  skilful  in  his 
faculty,  as  few  or  no  Christians  are  able  to  go  beyond  them 
in  that  they  take  in  hand.  For  drawing  and  embroidery 
upon  satin,  silk,  or  lawn,  either  beast,  fowl,  fish,  or  worm ; 
for  liveliness  and  perfectness,  both  in  silk,  silver,  gold,  and 
pearl,  they  excel." 

As  soon  as  the  Desire  came  to  anchor  off  Capul,  one  of 
the  chiefs,  of  whom  there  were  seven  in  the  island,  came 
on  board,  presuming  the  ship  to  be  Spanish.  His  people 
brought  a  supply  of  potatoes,  which  they  called  camotaes, 
and  green  cocoas.  The  rate  of  exchange,  or  the  prices, 
would  now  be  thought  high.  A  yard  of  linen  was  given 
for  four  cocoas,  and  the  same  quantity  for  about  a  quart 
of  potatoes.  These  --roots  were  thought  good  either  boiled 
or  roasted,  and  were  much  relished  by  the  crew.  The 
cacique  was  "carved"  (tattooed)  in  various  streaks  and 
devices.  He  was  requested  to  remain  on  board,  and  a 


PLOT    OF    THE    SPANISH    PILOT.  143 

message  of  invitation  being  sent  to  the  other  chiefs,  they 
also  repaired  to  the  ship,  bringing  hogs  and  hens  to  ex- 
change. The  rate  which  was  uniform  was,  for  a  hog  eight 
ryals  of  plate,  and  for  a  fowl  one.  This  trade  went  on 
all  day,  and  the  ship,  after  her  long  run,  was  well  supplied 
with  refreshments.  On  the  same  night  a  fortunate  dis- 
covery was  made  by  the  Portuguese  taken  out  of  the 
Santa  Anna  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Philip- 
pines and  of  China.  The  Spanish  pilot  had,  it  appeared, 
prepared  a  letter,  which  he  hoped  secretly  to  convey  to  the 
governor  at  Manilla,  informing  him  of  the  English  ship, 
which  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  surprise  and  overpower. 
If  this  vessel  was  allowed  to  escape  with  impunity,  he 
pointed  out  that  the  settlement  might  next  year  be  taken 
by  those  who  had  now  the  audacity  with  so  small  a  force 
to  approach  its  vicinity.  He  described  in  what  manner  the 
English  ship  might  be  taken  where  she  now  rode.  This 
crime,  or  act  of  patriotism,  was  clearly  brought  home  to 
the  pilot,  who  was  next  morning  hanged  for  doing  his 
duty  to  his  native  country  and  sovereign. 

Cavendish  remained  here  nine  days  for  the  refreshment 
of  the  ship's  company,  and  to  obtain  a  store  of  provisions. 
Some  singular  customs  are  ascribed  to  the  natives  of 
Capul.  They  practised  circumcision.  By  an  opinion, 
not  rare  "  of  the  heathen"  in  those  days,  nor  yet  altogether 
exploded  among  persons  better  instructed  than  the  early 
navigators,  the  islanders  are  alleged  to  have  "  wholly  wor- 
shipped the  Devil,  and  oftentimes  to  have  conference  with 
him,  who  appeareth  unto  them  in  a  most  ugly,  monstrous 
shape."  On  the  23d  January  the  captain-general  caused 
the  seven  chiefs  of  this  island,  "  and  of  a  hundred  islands 
more,"  to  appear  before  him,  and  pay  him  tribute  in  hogs, 
poultry,  cocoas,  and  potatoes  ;  at  which  ceremony  he  in- 
formed them  of  his  country,  spread  the  banner  of  England 
from  his  masthead,  and  sounded  the  drums  and  trumpet*. 
Due  homage  and  submission  were  made  to  the  representa- 
tive of  England,  and  the  enemy  of  Spain  ;  and  this  being 
all  that  was  required,  the  value  of  the  tribute  was  paid 
back  to  the  natives  in  money.  The  Indians,  at  parting, 
promised  to  assist  the  English  in  conqueringthe  Spaniards 
at  any  future  time  ;  and,  to  amuse  their  \new  friends, 
showed  feats  of  swift  rowing  round  the  ship  \The  general 


144  SKIRMISH JAVA    MAJOR. 

fired  off  a  piece  of  ordnance  as  a  farewell,  and  the  new 
tributaries  went  away  contented  and  pleased.  The  "  hun- 
dn-'I  islands  more"  look  like  a  flourish  of  the  narrator, 
thickly  as  islands  are  clustered  together  at  this  place. 
Next  day  they  ran  along  the  coast  of  Manilla,  and  on  the 
28th  chased  a  frigate,  which  escaped  into  some  inlet. 
Chase  was  given  by  the  boat  in  those  places  which 
were  so  shallow  that  the  ship  could  not  approach.  The 
crow  was  afterward  shot  at  by  a  party  of  Spanish  soldiers 
from  the  shore ;  and  a  frigate  was  manned  by  them  and 
sent  in  pursuit,  which  chased  the  English  boat  till  within 
reach  of  the  guns  of  the  Desire.  The  boat's  crew  had 
previously  made  a  Spaniard  prisoner,  whom  they  found  in 
a  canoe  from  which  the  natives  escaped ;  and  next  day 
Cavendish  sent  a  message  by  him  to  the  captain  of  the 
Spanish  party,  who  at  dill'rrent  stations  kept  watch  along 
the  coast,  ilesirir.'g  that  officer  to  provide  a  good  store  of 
gold,  as  he  intended  to  visit  him  at  Manilla  in  a  few  years, 
and,  if  his  boat  had  been  larger,  would  have  visited  him 
then. 

About  the  middle  of  February  Mr.  Cavendish  passed 
near  the  Moluccas,  but  did  not  touch  at  these  islands. 
Fever  now  visited  the  ship's  company,  which  had  hitherto 
been  very  healthy  ;  but  only  two  of  the  men  died,  and  one 
of  these  had  long  been  sick,  so  that  his  death  could  not  be 
attributed  to  the  climate  and  the  excessive  heat  which  occa- 
sioned the  illness  of  the  others.  On  the  1st  of  March  the 
Desire  passed  through  the  straits  at  the  west  end  of  Java 
Minor,  and  on  the  5th  anchored  in  a  bay  at  the  west  end* 
of  Java  Major.  A  negro  found  in  the  Santa  Anna  was 
able  to  converse  with  some  natives  who  were  here  found 
fishing.  Through  this  interpreter,  who  spoke  the  Morisco 
or  Arabic  language,  they  were  informed  that  provisions 
might  be  obtained  ;  and  in  a  few  days  afterward  two  or 
three  canoes  arrived  laden  with  fowls,  eggs,  fresh  fish, 
oranges,  and  limes.  That  the  ship  might  be  more  con- 
veniently victualled  they  stood  in  nearer  the  town,  and 
were  visited  by  the  king's  secretary,  who  brought  the 
general  a  present,  including,  among  other  things,  "  wine 

*  There  appears  to  be  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  point  at 
which  the  ship  now  anchored 


CUSTOMS    OF    JAVA.  145 

as  strong  as  aquavit®,  and  as  clear  as  rock-water."*  This 
distinguished  official,  who  promised  that  the  ship  should 
be  supplied  in  four  days,  was  treated  with  all  the  magnifi- 
cence that  Cavendish  could  command.  The  wines  and 
preserves  of  the  Spanish  prize  were  produced  for  his  enter- 
tainment ;  and  the  English  musicians  exerted  their  skill. 
The  secretary,  who  remained  on  board  all  night,  saw  the 
watch  set  and  the  guns  fired  off,  and  was  informed  that 
the  ship's  company  were  Englishmen,  natives  of  a  country 
which  already  traded  with  China,t  and  that  they  were 
come  hither  for  discovery  and  traffic.  The  Portuguese 
had  already  established  a  factory  on  the  island,  where  they 
traded  in  cloves,  pepper,  sugar,  slaves,  and  other  merchan- 
dise of  the  East.  Two  of  these.  Portuguese  merchants 
afterward  visited  the  ship,  eager  to  obtain  news  of  their 
country  and  of  Don  Antonio  their  prince.  They  were  in- 
formed that  he  was  then  in  England,  honourably  enter- 
tained by  the  queen ;  and  were  delighted  to  hear  of  the 
havoc  Cavendish  had  made  among  the  Spanish  shipping 
in  the  South  Sea,  as  he  told  them  that  he  was  "  warring 
upon  them  (the  Spaniards)  under  the  King  of  Portugal." 
The  Europeans  who  met  on  this  distant  coast  were  mu- 
tually delighted  with  their  short  intercourse.  Cavendish 
banqueted  the  Portuguese  merchants,  and  entertained 
them  with  music  as  well  as  with  political  intelligence ; 
and  to  him  they  described  the  riches  of  Java,  and  the  most 
remarkable  customs  observed  by  the  natives.  The  reign- 
ing king  or  rajah  was  named  Bolamboam,  and  was  re- 
ported to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was 
held  in  great  veneration  by  his  subjects,  none  of  whom 
durst  trade  with  any  nation  without  his  license  under  pain 
of  death.  The  old  king  had  a  hundred  wives  ;  and  his 
son  fifty.  In  Bolamboam  the  old  voyagers  give  a  perfect 
picture  of  an  absolute  prince.  The  Javans  paid  him  un- 
limited obedience.  Whatever  he  commanded,  be  the  un- 
dertaking ever  so  dangerous  or  desperate,  no  one  durst 
shrink  from  executing  it ;  and  their  heads  were  the  forfeit 
of  their  failure.  They  were  "  the  bravest  race  in  the 

*  This  we  imagined  arrack  ;  but  in  the  margin  of  an  old  voyage  we 
find  it  called  niper-wine. 
1  No  excuse  is  offered  for  this  pious  fraud. 


146  ISLAND    OF    ST.    HELENA. 

south-eastern  parts  of  the  globe,  never  fearing  death." 
The  men  were  naked,  and  dark  in  colour  ;  but  the  women 
were  partly  clothed,  and  in  complexion  much  fairer. 
When  the  king  died  his  body  was  burned,  and  the  ashes 
were  preserved.  Five  days  afterward  his  queen,  or  prin- 
cipal wife,  threw  a  ball  from  her  with  which  she  was 
provided,  and  wherever  it  ran  thither  all  the  wives  repaired. 
Each  turned  her  face  eastward, — and,  with  a  dagger  as 
sharp  as  a  razor,  stabbed  herself  to  the  heart,  and,  bathed 
in  her  own  blood,  fell  upon  her  face,  and  thus  died. 
"  This  thing,"  we  are  assured,  "  is  as  true  as  it  may  seem 
to  any  hearer  to  be  strange."  The  Portuguese  factors, 
before  parting  with  Cavendish,  proposed  that  their  acknow- 
ledged king,  Don  Antonio,  should  come  out,  and  here 
found  an  empire,  which  should  comprehend  the  Moluccas, 
Ceylon,  China,  and  the  Philippines.  They  were  assured 
that  all  the  natives  of  these  countries  would  declare  for 
him.  A  kind  reception  was  also  promised  to  the  English 
at  their  return ;  and  Cavendish,  having  fully  satisfied 
them  for  the  supplies  furnished  to  his  ship,  fired  a  parting 
salute  of  three  guns,  and  on  the  16th  March  sailed  for  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  rest  of  this  month  and  the  month  of  April  were 
spent  "  in  traversing  that  mighty  and  vast  sea  between 
the  island  of  Java  and  the  main  of  Africa,  observing  the 
heavens,  the  Crosiers  or  South  Pole,  the  other  stars,  and 
the  fowls,  which  are  marks  unto  seamen ;  fair  weather, 
foul  weather,  approaching  of  lands  or  islands,  the  winds, 
tempests,  the  rains  and  thunders,  with  the  alteration  of  the 
tides  and  currents."  On  the  10th  of  May  a  storm  arose, 
and  they  were  afterward  becalmed  ;  and,  in  the  thick  hazy 
weather  of  the  calm,  mistook  Cape  False  for  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  which  they  passed  on  the  16th,  having  run 
1850  leagues  in  nine  weeks. 

On  the  8th  June  the  island  of  St.  Helena  was  seen,  and 
on  the  9th  they  anchored  in  the  harbour.  The  description 
of  this  station,  so  important  to  navigators,  would  apply 
with  perfect  accuracy  even  at  this  day,  so  far  as  regards 
external  appearance  or  the  natural  productions  of  that  de- 
licious resting-place,  of  which  at  that  time  the  Portuguese 
still  enjoyed  sole  possession.  They  had  now  held  this 


RETURN    TO    PLYMOUTH.  147 

island  for  upwards  of  eighty  years ;  and,  though  it  had 
never  been  regularly  colonized,  they  had  done  much  to 
store  it  with  every  thing  necessary  to  the  refreshment  of 
seamen  on  a  long  voyage.  Already  it  abounded  in  all 
sorts  of  herbs,  and  in  delicious  fruits.  Partridges,  pheas- 
ants, turkeys,  goats,  and  wild  hogs  were  also  obtained  in 
abundance. 

At  St.  Helena  Cavendish  remained  till  the  20th,  clean- 
ing the  ship,  and  obtaining  refreshments,  when  the  Desire 
once  more  got  under  way  for  England.  About  the  end 
of  August  they  passed  the  Azores,  and  on  the  3d  Sep- 
tember met  a  Flemish  hulk  from  Lisbon,  which  informed 
them  of  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  to  their  "  great 
rejoicing."  In  the  channel  they  were  overtaken  by  the 
same  terrible  tempest  that  made  such  havoc  among  the 
Spanish  ships  which  were  driven  round  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land and  to  the  north  of  Scotland ;  but  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  complete  the  third  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  at 
Plymouth  on  the  9th  September,  1588, — two  years  and 
fifty  days  from  the  time  they  had  left  the  same  harbour, 
and  in  a  considerably  shorter  time  than  either  Drake  or 
Magellan  had  made  the  same  voyage. 

Very  copious  nautical  notes  and  remarks  on  this  voyage 
were  published  by  Mr.  Thomas  Fuller  of  Ipswich,  the  sail- 
ing-master of  the  Desire.  They  must  have]  been  of  great 
value  at  the  time,  but  have  been  superseded  by  more 
modern  charts,  in  forming  which,  though  the  observations 
may  not  be  more  accurate,  the  navigators  have  had  the 
advantage  of  more  perfect  instruments.  The  only  geo- 
graphical discovery  made  by  Cavendish  in  this  navigation 
was  Port  Desire,  on  the  Patagonian  coast,  the  landmarks 
of  which  Fuller  has  accurately  described,  though  it  has  fre- 
quently been  made  the  subject  of  dispute  among  modem 
voyagers. 

The  fame  of  the  exploits  of  Cavendish,  and  of  the  great 
wealth  which  he  had  brought  home,  "  enough  to  buy  a  fair 
earldom,"  almost  rivalled  the  accounts  of  Drake's  wonder- 
ful voyage.  Among  other  rumours  it  was  said,  that  when 
he  entered  the  harbour  of  Plymouth  his  sails  were  all  of 
silk.  In  the  tempest  which  overtook  them  in  the  channel 
the  sails  were  lost ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Cavendish 


148  CAVENDISH'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  VOYAGE. 

might  have  been  compelled  to  employ  some  of  his  rich 
Indian  damasks  in  the  homely  office  of  rigging  his  vessel ; 
though  it  is  conjectured,  with  more  feasibility,  that  his  new 
suit  of  sails  were  canvass  fabricated  of  the  silk-grass  used 
in  the  South  Seas,  which,  being  very  lustrous,  might  easily 
be  mistaken  for  silk. 

The  earliest  leisure  of  Cavendish  was  employed  in  writ- 
ing to  his  patron,  Lord  Hunsdon,  giving  an  account  of  his 
prosperous  expedition.  Whatever  blame  may  in  a  more 
enlightened  age  be  imputed  to  this  navigator  for  the  wanton 
outrages  committed  on  the  Spanish  settlements  and  on  the 
subjects  of  Spain,  he  appears  to  have  thought  himself  en- 
titled to  credit  for  their  performance.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  trying  to  conceal  these  deeds,  in  setting  forth  his  ser- 
vices for  her  majesty,  he  makes  them  his  boast ;  and 
doubtless  they  were  highly  esteemed.*  No  better  reca- 
pitulation of  the  events  of  this  celebrated  voyage  can  be 
found  than  that  contained  in  his  letter  to  Lord  Hunsdon, 
an  extract  of  which  may  form  an  appropriate  conclusion 
to  this  chapter.  "  It  hath  pleased  Almighty  God,"  says 
the  writer,  u  to  suffer  me  to  circumpass  the  whole  globe  of 
the  world,  entering  in  at  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and  return- 
ing by  the  Cape  de  Buena  Esperan9a  ;  in  which  voyage  I 
have  either  discovered  or  brought  certain  intelligence  of  all 
the  rich  places  of  the  world  which  were  ever  discovered  by 
any  Christian.  I  navigated  along  the  coast  of  Chili,  Peru, 
and  New  Spain,  where  I  made  great  spoils.  I  burnt  and 
sunk  nineteen  sails  of  ships  small  and  great.  All  the 
villages  and  towns  that  ever  I  landed  at  I  burned  and 
spoiled.  And  had  I  not  been  discovered  upon  the  coast,  I 
had  taken  great  quantity  of  treasure.  The  matter  of  most 
profit  unto  me  was  a  great  ship  of  the  king's  which  I  took 
at  California;  which  ship  camo  from  the  Philippines,! 
being  one  of  the  richest  of  merchandise  that  ever  passed 

*We  have  seen  one  account  which  states  that  Cavendish  was 
knighted  on  his  return,  but  it  does  not  seem  authentic. 

t  It  is  not  easy  to  discover  where  Cavendish  obtained  this  boasted 
information,  and  the  map  of  China  which  he  brought  home  ;  and  proba- 
bly this  might  be  from  various  sources, — from  the  Portuguese  found  in 
the  Acapulco  ship,  who  had  been  in  Canton, — from  the  natives  of  the 
island  he  names  Capul,— and,  above  all,  from  the  Portuguese  factors  in 
Java, 


SECOND  EXPEDITION  TO  THE  SOUTH  SEA.     149 

those  seas From  the  Cape  of  California,  being  the 

uttermost  part  of  all  New  Spain,  I  navigated  to  the 
islands  of  the  Philippines,  hard  upon  the  coast  of  China,  of 
which  country  I  have  brought  such  intelligence  as  hath 
not  been  heard  of  in  these  parts  :  the  stateliness  and  riches 
of  which  I  fear  to  make  report  of,  lest  I  should  not  be 

credited I  found  out  by  the   way  homeward  the 

island  of  Santa  Helena,  where  the  Portuguese  used  to  re- 
lieve themselves ;  and  from  that  island  God  hath  suffered 
me  to  return  into  England.  All  which  services,  with  my- 
self, I  humbly  prostrate  at  her  majesty's  feet,  desiring  the 
Almighty  long  to  continue  her  reign  among  us  ;  for  at  this 
day  she  is  the  most  famous  and  victorious  princess  that  liveth 
in  the  world." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Second  Voyage  to  the  South  Sea. 

New  Expedition  to  the  South  Sea— Attack  on  the  Portuguese  Settle- 
ments—Delay of  the  Squadron— Letter  of  Cavendish— Relation  by 
Jane — Sufferings  in  Magellan's  Straits — Separation  of  Davis — Davis's 
Southern  Islands— Piety  of  the  Captain— Natives  of  Port  Desire— 
Nine  Men  lost— Homeward  Voyage  of  Davis— Adventures  of  C^ven- 
dish— He  loses  twenty-four  Men— Unfortunate  Affair  at  Spirito  Santo 
— Fury  and  Indignation  of  Cavendish — Separation  of  the  Roebuck — 
Discontent  of  the  Crew— Firmness  of  the  Commander— They  miss 
St.  Helena— Death  of  Cavendish— His  Character. 

THE  second  and  final  expedition  of  Cavendish  to  the 
South  Seas  was  as  remarkable  for  ill  fortune  as  his  first 
voyage  had  been  distinguished  by  uninterrupted  prosperity. 
This  fortunate  voyage,  however,  which  gave  such  strong 
confirmation  to  the  hopes  excited  by  the  adventure  of  Drake, 
encouraged  many  to  a  similar  attempt,  and  during  the  two 
years  following  his  return  several  expeditions  were  fitted 
out  from  England,  though  none  of  them  proved  successful. 

In  three  years  after  his  return,  Cavendish,  having,  accord- 
ing to  some  accounts,  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  riches 
he  had  acquired  in  the  South  Sea,  planned  an  expedition 
N2 


150  STRENGTH  OF  THE  SQUADRON SANTOS. 

for  China,  by  Magellan's  Straits,  and  upon  an  extensive 
scale.  It  is  asserted,  with  as  much  probability,  that  his 
wealth  was  laid  out  in  equipping  the  new  squadron,  with 
which  he  put  to  sea  on  the  26th  August,  1591.  It  con- 
sisted of  "  three  tall  ships"  and  two  barks.  As  admiral  of 
the  fleet  Cavendish  sailed  in  the  Leicester  galleon ;  and 
his  old  ship,  the  Desire,  was  commanded  by  the  celebrated 
pilot,  navigator,  and  fortunate  discoverer,  Captain  John 
Davis.*  The  Roebuck,  commanded  by  Mr.  Cook,  the 
Black  Pinnace,  and  a  small  bark  named  the  Dainty,  which 
belonged  to  Mr.  Adrian  Gilbert,  a  gentleman  of  Devon- 
shire, who  had  been  among  the  promoters  of  the  discovery 
of  the  North-west  Passage,  completed  the  fleet.  The  two 
Japanese  youths  captured  in  the  Acapulco  ship  on  the 
former  voyage  accompanied  Cavendish  in  this. 

Under  the  equinoctial  line  they  were  becalmed  for  twenty- 
seven  days,  burning  beneath  a  hot  sun,  and  exposed  to  the 
deadly  night  vapours,  which  threw  many  of  the  men  into 
the  scurvy.  Their  first  capture  was  a  Portuguese  vessel, 
on  the  2d  December,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil.  It  was  laden 
with  sugar,  small  wares,  and  slaves. 

On  the  5th  they  pillaged  Placenzia,  a  small  Portuguese 
settlement ;  and  on  the  16th  surprised  the  town  of  Santos, 
where  the  inhabitants  were  at  mass  when  the  party  landed. 
Though  Cavendish,  both  from  principle  and  from  natural 
disposition,  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  spoiling  the  enemy, 
the  object  of  this  attack  was  to  obtain  provisions  ;  but  this 
design,  from  the  negligence  of  the  captain  of  the  Roebuck, 
was  completely  frustrated.  The  Indians  carried  every 
thing  away  ;  and  next  day  the  prisoners  in  the  church  were 
either  set  free  or  contrived  to  escape,  four  old  men  being 
retained  as  hostages  till  the  supplies  came  in.  They  never 
appeared ;  and  the  consequence  of  mismanagement  and 
delay  was,  that  in  lying  five  weeks  before  this  place  the 
provisions  were  wasted  which  should  have  sustained  them 
in  passing  the  straits,  and  the  voyage  was  delayed,  by  this 
and  other  causes,  till  they  found  themselves,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  southern  winter,  distant  from  the  straits,  and 
short  of  stores. 

*  See  Discovery  and  Adventure  In  the  Polar  Seas  and  Regions, 
Family  Library,  No.  XVI. 


ENCOUNTER  A  GALE.  151 

On  the  22d  January  they  left  Santos,  burnt  St.  Vincent 
on  the  23d,  and  next  day  bore  for  the  Straits  of  Magellan ; 
Port  Desire,  which  Cavendish  had  discovered  on  his  former 
voyage,  being  appointed  as  a  rendezvous  in  case  of  separa- 
tion. On  the  7th  February  the  fleet  was  overtaken  by  a 
violent  gale,  and  next  day  they  were  separated.  Davis,  in 
the  Desire,  made  for  the  appointed  harbour,  and  in  the 
way  fell  in  with  the  Roebuck,  which  had  suffered  dread- 
fully. On  the  6th  March  these  two  ships  reached  Port 
Desire  together,  and  in  ten  days  afterward  were  joined  by 
the  Black  Pinnace.  The  Dainty,  the  volunteer  bark,  re- 
turned to  England,  having  stored  herself  with  sugar  at 
Santos  while  the  other  ships  lay  idle  ;  her  captain  was  in 
the  mean  while  on  board  the  Roebuck,  and  was  left  without 
any  thing  save  the  clothes  which  he  wore. 

In  the  gale,  which  scarcely  abated  from  the  7th  Feb- 
ruary to  the  middle  of  March,  Cavendish  suffered  severely, 
and  his  officers  and  men  had  shown  a  disposition  to  mutiny  ; 
so  that,  on  rejoining  the  other  ships  on  the  18th,  he  left 
the  Leicester  galleon  in  displeasure,  and  remained  in  the 
Desire,  with  Captain  Davis.  Cavendish  did  not  at  this 
time  complain  more  bitterly  of  the  gentlemen  of  his  own 
ship  than  he  afterward  violently  accused  Davis  of  having 
betrayed  and  abandoned  him.  His  subsequent  misfortunes 
affected  his  temper,  and,  it  may  be  presumed,  perverted  his 
sense  of  justice.  Though  his  company  had  not  recovered 
the  excessive  fatigue  and  exhaustion  caused  by  the  late 
continued  tempest,  the  galleon  sailed  with  the  fleet  on  the 
20th,  and  after  enduring  fresh  storms,  all  the  ships  made 
the  straits  on  the  8th  April,  and  on  the  14th  passed  in.  In 
two  days  they  had  beat  inward  only  ten  leagues. 

An  account  is  given  in  Purchases  Pilgrims  of  this  most 
disastrous  voyage,  drawn  up  at  sea  by  Cavendish,  in  his 
last  illness.  It  is  addressed  to  Sir  Tristram  Gorges,  whom 
the  unfortunate  navigator  appointed  his  executor,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  affecting  narratives  that  ever  was  written, — the 
confession,  wrung  in  bitterness  of  heart,  from  a  high- 
spirited,  proud,  and  headstrong  man,  who,  having  set  his  all 
upon  a  cast,  and  finding  himself  undone,  endured  the 
deeper  mortification  of  believing  he  had  been  the  dupe  of 
those  he  implicitly  trusted.  Though  we  cannot  admit  the 
force  of  many  of  his  allegations,  nor  the  justice  of  his  un- 


152  LETTER   OF    CAVENDISH. 

measured  invective,  it  is  impossible  to  withhold  sympathy 
from  his  extreme  distress.  "  We  had  been  almost  four 
months,"  says  this  melancholy  relation,  "  between  the  coast 
of  Brazil  and  the  straits,  being  in  distance  not  above  600 
leagues  ;  which  is  commonly  run  in  twenty  or  thirty  days  ; 
but  such  was  the  adverseness  of  our  fortune,  that  in  coming 
thither  we  spent  the  summer,  and  found  the  straits,  in  the 
beginning  of  a  most  extreme  winter,  not  durable  for  Chris- 
tians  After  the  month  of  May  was  come  in,  no- 
thing but  such  flights  of  snow,  and  extremity  of  frosts,  as 
in  all  my  life  I  never  saw  any  to  be  compared  with  them. 
This  extremity  caused  the  weak  men  (in  my  ship  only)  to 
decay ;  for,  in  seven  or  eight  days,  in  this  extremity,  there 
died  forty  men  and  sickened  seventy,  so  that  there  were  not 
fifteen  men  able  to  stand  upon  the  hatches."  Another  re- 
lation of  the  voyage  written  by  Mr.  John  Jane,  a  friend  of 
Captain  Davis,  even  deepens  this  picture  of  distress.  The 
squadron,  beating  for  above  a  week  against  the  wind  into 
the  straits,  and  in  all  that  time  advancing  only  fifty  leagues, 
now  lay  in  a  sheltered  cove  on  the  south  side  of  the  pas- 
sage, and  nearly  opposite  Cape  Froward,  where  they  re- 
mained till  the  1 5th  May,  a  period  of  extreme  suffering. 
"  In  this  time,"  says  Jane,  "  we  endured  extreme  storms 
with  perpetual  snow,  where  many  of  our  men  died  of 
cursed  famine  and  miserable  cold,*  not  having  wherewith 

*  Purchases  Pilgrims  comprehends  "The  admirable  and  strange 
adventures  of  Master  Anthony  Knyvet,  who  went  with  Master  Caven- 
dish in  his  second  voyage,"  which  for  marvels,  if  not  for  invention  and 
imagination,  may  rival  the  adventures  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor.  Knyvet 
wandered  from  the  ship  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  was  for  many  years 
among  the  "  Cannibals."  Many  is  the  wonderful  escape  from  death 
which  he  makes.  In  the  straits,  pulling  off  his  stockings  one  night,  all 
his  toes  came  with  them;  but  this  is  not  so  bad  as  the  fortune  of  one 
Harris,  who,  blowing  his  nose  with  his  fingers,  throws  it  into  the  tire, 
and  never  recovers  it  again,  as  Knyvet  seems  to  have  done  his  toes  by 
the  good  offices  of  a  surgeon  whom  Cavendish  employed,  and  who  cured 
with  muttering  words.  In  the  straits  he  saw  both  giants  and  pigmies. 
The  footmarks  of  the  giants  at  Port  Desire  were  four  times  the  length 
of  an  Englishman's  foot.  In  the  straits  their  stature  was  fifteen  and  six- 
teen spans  long ;  and  at  Port  Famine, or  San  Felipe,  the  desolate  station, 
of  the  Spanish  colony,  four  or  five  thousand  pigmies,  with  mouths 
reaching  from  ear  to  ear,  were  seen  at  one  time,  whose  height  was  from 
four  to  five  spans.  Some  of  Knyvet's  marvels  relate  to  the  singular 
subject  of  demoniac  possession  and  satanic  influence  among  the  tribes 
with  whom  he  sojourned.  These  accounts,  and  others  of  the  elder  voy- 
agers, are  not  materially  different  from  those  which  we  receive  of  the 


SEPARATION  OF  THE  FLEET.        153 

to  cover  their  bodies,  nor  to  fill  their  belly,  but  living  by 
muscles,  water,  and  weeds  of  the  sea,  with  a  small  relief 
from  the  ship's  stores  of  meal  sometimes."  Nor  was  this 
the  worst ;  "  All  the  sick  men  in  the  galleon  were  most  un- 
charitably put  on  shore  into  the  woods,  in  the  snow,  wind, 
and  cold,  when  men  of  good  health  could  scarcely  endure  it, 
where  they  ended  their  lives  in  the  highest  degree  of 
misery."  Though  Cavendish  was  still  on  board  the  Desire, 
it  is  impossible  to  free  him  of  the  blame  of  this  inhuman 
abandonment  of  the  sick.  A  consultation  was  now  held,  at 
which  Davis,  who  had  had  great  experience  of  the  severities 
of  the  seasons  in  the  north-west  voyages,  declared  for  push- 
ing forward,  as  the  weather  must  speedily  improve  ;  while 
Cavendish  preferred  the  attempt  of  reaching  China  by 
doubling  th«  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  For  this  voyage,  how- 
ever, the  other  commanders  thought  there  were  neither  pro- 
visions nor  equipments.  At  length,  on  a  petition  by  the 
whole  company  being  presented  to  Cavendish,  he  agreed  to 
return  to  the  coast  of  Brazil  for  supplies,  and,  thus  fur- 
nished, again  to  attempt  the  straits. 

On  the  15th  May  they  accordingly  sailed  eastward,  and 
on  the  midnight  of  the  20th,  Davis  in  the  Desire,  and  the 
Black  Pinnace,  were  separated  from  the  galleon,  to  which 
Cavendish  had  now  returned.  They  never  met  again,  and 
Cavendish,  to  the  last  moment  of  his  unhappy  life,  accused 
Davis  of  having  wilfully  abandoned  him.  This  treache- 
rous desertion,  if  such  it  was, — and  by  the  friends  of  Davis 
it  is  strenuously  denied, — took  place  in  the  latitude  of  Port 
Desire,  for  which  harbour  Davis  stood  in,  and  also  the 
Black  Pinnace,  expecting,  as  they  at  least  pretended,  to 
find  the  general.  Here  they  took  in  water,  and  obtained  at 
ebb-tide  muscles,  and  with  hooks  made  of  pins  caught 
smelts,  and  thus  spared  their  slender  stock  of  provisions. 

An  effort  made  by  Davis  to  go  in  search  of  the  captain- 
general  in  the  pinnace  was  overruled,  it  is  alleged,  by  the 
ship's  company,  who  would  not  permit  its  departure.  They 

South  Sea  islanders  at  the  present  time,  and  which  we  are  assured  by 
Ellis  some  of  the  early  missionaries  were  disposed  to  believe.  On  his 
return  to  England,  Master  Knyvet  told  Purchas,  that  he  once  heard  an 
Indian  conferring  with  the  Spirit  which  possessed  him,  and  threatening 
that,  if  it  did  not  use  him  better,  he  would  turn  Christian ;  the  Spirit  took 
the  hint  and  left  him. 


154  DAVIS'S  SOUTHERN  ISLANDS. 

are  even  charged  with  open  mutiny,  and  two  ringleaders 
are  named. 

To  clear  himself  of  all  suspicion,  Davis,  on  the  2d  June, 
drew  up  a  relation  of  the  voyage,  of  the  separation,  and  of 
the  state  of  the  two  ships  lying  here,  which  all  the  men  sub- 
scribed. It  certainly  goes  far  to  exonerate  him.  They 
remained  in  Port  Desire  till  the  6th  August,  keeping  watch 
on  the  hills  for  the  galleon  and  the  Roebuck ;  one  part  of 
the  company  foraging  for  provisions  of  any  kind  that  could 
be  obtained,  while  others  made  nails,  bolts,  and  ropes  from 
an  old  cable,  and  thus  supplied  their  wants  in  the  best  man- 
ner they  could  devise.  There  are,  however,  surmises,  that 
all  this  labour  was  undertaken  that  Davis  might  be  able  to 
accomplish  his  great  object  of  passing  the  straits,  whatever 
became  of  the  general,  and  whatever  might  have  been  his 
wishes  or  orders.  After  this  refitting  was  accomplished,  it 
was  accordingly  resolved  to  await  the  coming  of  Cavendish 
in  the  straits,  for  which,  having  at  Penguin  Isle  salted 
twenty  hogsheads  of  seals,  they  sailed  on  the  night  of  the 
7th  August,  "the  poorest  wretches  that  ever  were  created." 

Several  times  they  obtained  a  sight  of  the  South  Sea, 
and  were  driven  back  into  the  straits.  While  tossed  about, 
they  were  on  the  14th  driven  in  "  among  certain  islands 
never  before  discovered  by  any  known  relation,  lying  fifty 
leagues  or  better  off  the  shore,  east  and  northerly  from  the 
straits."  These  were  the  Falkland  Islands,  of  which  Cap- 
tain Davis  certainly  has  the  honour  of  being  the  original 
discoverer,  as  he  had  already  been  of  the  straits  which  still 
go  by  his  name,  and  of  other  ports  in  the  north  seas. 
This  discovery  was  shortly  afterward  claimed  by  Sir  Rich- 
ard Hawkins,  who  gave  these  islands  the  name  of  Hawkins's 
Maiden  Land,  "  for  that  it  was  discovered  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  my  sovereign  lady,  and  a  maiden  queen.'* 
The  discovery  of  these  islands  has  been  claimed  by  the 
navigators  of  other  countries,  and  a  variety  of  names  have 
been  imposed  upon  them.  Burney  christens  them  anew 
"  Davis's  Southern  Islands,"  a  distinction  to  which  that  cele- 
brated navigator  is  fully  entitled,  though  it  will  not  be  easy 
to  change  a  name  so  established  as  that  of  the  Falkland 
Islands.  On  the  2d  October  they  got  into  the  South  Sea 
once  more,  and  in  the  same  night  encountered  a  severe  gale, 
which  continued  with  unabated  violence  for  many  days. 


PIETY  OF  DAVIS.  155 

On  the  4th  the  pinnace  was  lost :  on  the  5th  the  foresail 
was  split  and  all  torn  ;  "  and  the  mizzen  was  brought  to 
the  foremast  to  make  our  ship  work,  the  storm  continuing 
beyond  all  description  in  fury,  with  hail,  snow,  rain,  and 
wind,  such  and  so  mighty  as  that  in  nature  it  could  not 
possibly  be  more  ;  the  sea  such  and  so  lofty  with  continual 
breach,  that  many  times  we  were  doubtful  whether  our  ship 
did  sink  or  swim."  The  relation  proceeds  thus,  with  earnest 
pathetic  simplicity  : — "  The  10th  of  October,  being,  by  the 
account  of  our  captain  and  master,  very  near  the  shore,  the 
weather  dark,  the  storm  furious,  and  most  of  our  men  having 
given  over  to  travail,  we  yielded  ourselves  to  death  without 
farther  hope  of  succour.  Our  captain  (Davis)  sitting  in 
the  gallery  very  pensive,  I  came  and  brought  him  some 
Rosa  Solis  to  comfort  him,  for  he  was  so  cold  he  was  scarce 
able  to  move  a  joint.  After  he  had  drunk,  and  was  com- 
forted in  heart,  he  began  for  the  ease  of  his  conscience  to 
make  a  large  repetition  of  his  forepassed  time,  and  with 
many  grievous  sighs  he  concluded  in  these  words  : — *  Oh 
most  glorious  God,  with  whose  power  the  mightiest  things 
among  men  are  matters  of  no  moment,  I  most  humbly  be- 
seech thee,  that  the  intolerable  burden  of  my  sins  may 
through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  be  taken  from  me ;  and 
end  our  days  with  speed,  or  show  us  some  merciful  sign  of 
thy  love  and  our  preservation.'*  Having  thus  elided,  he 
desired  me  not  to  make  known  to  the  company  his  intole- 
rable grief  and  anguish  of  mind,  because  they  should  not 
thereby  be  dismayed ;  and  so,  suddenly,  before  I  went  from 
him,  the  sun  shined  clear ;  so  that  he  and  the  master  both 
observed  the  true  elevation  of  the  Pole,  whereby  they  knew 
by  what  course  to  recover  the  strait."  The  narrative  goes 
on  to  relate  a  wonderful  instance  of  preservation  in  dou- 
bling a  cape  at  the  mouth  of  the  strait  on  the  llth  of  Oc- 
tober. 

They  at  last  put  back  into  the  strait  in  a  most  pitiable 
condition,  the  men  "with  their  sinews  stiff,  their  flesh 
dead,"  and  in  a  state  too  horrible  to  be  described.  They 
found  shelter  and  rest  in  a  cove  for  a  few  days,  but  famine 
urged  them  on,  and  the  weather,  after  a  short  interval  of 
calm,  became  as  stormy  as  before.  "  The  storm  growing 

*  Our  readers  will  remember  the  admirable  use  which  De  Foe  has 
made  of  this  scene. 


156  NATIVES  OF  PORT  DESIRE. 

outrageous,  our  men  could  scarcely  stand  by  their  labour ; 
and  the  straits  being  full  of  turning  reaches,  we  were  con- 
strained, by  the  discretion  of  the  captain  and  master  in  their 
accounts,  to  guide  the  ship  in  the  hell-dark  night  when  we 
could  not  see  any  shore."  In  this  extremity  they  got  back 
to  Port  Desire,  and  obtained  wood  and  water  ;  and  in  Pen- 
guin Island  found  abundance  of  birds.  One  day,  while  most 
of  the  men  were  absent  on  their  several  duties,  a  multitude 
of  the  natives  showed  themselves,  throwing  dust  upon  their 
heads,  "  leaping  and  running  like  brute  beasts,  having 
vizards  on  their  faces,  like  dogs'  faces,  or  else  their  faces  are 
dogs'  faces  indeed.  We  greatly  feared  lest  they  should 
set  the  ship  on  fire,  for  they  would  suddenly  make  fire, 
whereat  we  much  marvelled.*  They  came  to  windward 
of  our  ship,  and  set  the  bushes  on  fire,  so  that  we  were 
in  a  very  stinking  smoke  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  came  within 
reach  of  our  shot  we  shot  at  them,  and  striking  one  of  them 
in  the  thigh  they  all  presently  fled,  and  we  never  saw  them 
more."  At  this  place  a  party  of  nine  men  were  killed  by 
the  Indians,  or  were  presumed  to  be  so,  as  they  went  on 
shore,  and  were  never  again  heard  of.  The  relation  points 
out,  that  "  these  were  the  mutineers,  and  this  the  place  at 
which  they  had  formerly  devised  mischief"  against  Davis 
and  his  officers.  Here  they  made  salt  by  pouring  salt- 
water in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks,  which  in  six  days  was 
granulated  from  evaporation  by  the  heat  of  the  sun.  They 
found  abundance  of  food,  in  eggs,  penguins,  seals,  and 
young  gulls  ;  and  with  train-oil  fried  scurvy-grass  with 
eggs,  "which  (herb)  took  away  all  kinds  of  swellings, 
whereof  many  had  died,  and  restored  us  to  perfect  health 
of  body,  so  that  we  were  in  as  good  case  as  when  we  left 
England." — "  Thus  God  did  feed  us,  as  it  were,  with  manna 
from  heaven." 

On  the  22d  December  they  sailed  for  Brazil  with  a  stock 
of  14,000  dried  penguins,  of  which  they  had  an  ample 
allowance,  though  their  other  provision  was  scantily  dealt 

*  In  New  Guinea  Captain  Cook  saw  a  peculiar  mode  of  "  suddenly 
making  fire."  probably,  however,  very  different  from  this.  "  Three  In- 
dians rushed  out  of  a  wood  with  a  hideous  shout,  at  about  the  distance 
of  100  yards ;  and  as  they  ran  towards  us  the  foremost  threw  some- 
thing out  of  his  hand,  which  burnt  exactly  like  gunpowder,  but  made 
no  report.  What  these  fires  were  we  could  not  imagine." — "  We  saw 
fire  and  smoke  resembling  those  of  a  musket,  and  of  no  longer  duration." 


HOMEWARD  VOYAGE  OF  DAVIS.  157 

out.  In  the  beginning  of  February,  in  attempting  by  vio- 
lence to  obtain  some  provisions  at  the  Isle  of  Placenzia,  on 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  thirteen  of  the  men  were  killed  by  the 
Indians  and  Portuguese ;  and  of  an  original  company  of 
seventy  only  twenty-seven  were  now  left  in  the  Desire. 
They  were  again  the  sport  of  baffling  winds  ;  the  water 
ran  short,  and  in  the  warm  latitudes  the  penguins,  their 
sole  dependence  for  food,  began  to  corrupt,  "  and  ugly 
loathsome  worms  of  an  inch  long  were  bred  in  them."  The 
account  of  this  plague  is  painfully  striking.  "  This  wonn 
did  so  mightily  increase  and  devour  our  victuals,  that 
there  was  in  reason  no  hope  how  we  should  avoid  famine, 
but  be  devoured  of  the  wicked  creatures.  There  was  no- 
thing that  they  did  not  devour,  iron  only  excepted, — our 
clothes,  hats,  boots,  shirts,  and  stockings.  And  for  the 
ship,  they  did  eat  the  timbers  ;  so  that  we  greatly  feared 
they  would  undo  us  by  eating  through  the  ship's  side. 
Great  was  the  care  and  diligence  of  our  captain,  master, 
and  company  to  consume  these  vermin  ;  but  the  more  we 
laboured  to  kill  them,  the  more  they  increased  upon  us  ;  so 
that  at  last  we  could  not  sleep  for  them,  for  they  would  eat 
our  flesh  like  mosquitoes."  The  men  now  fell  into  strange 
and  horrible  diseases,  and  some  became  raging  mad.  A  supply 
of  water  was,  however,  obtained  from  the  heavy  rains  which 
fell ;  and  this  was  the  only  solace  of  this  most  miserable 
voyage.  Eleven  died  between  the  coast  of  Brazil  and  Bear 
Haven  in  Ireland ;  and  of  the  sixteen  that  survived  only 
five  were  able  to  work  the  ship.  If  the  design  of  Davis 
had  been  treacherously  to  abandon  Mr.  Cavendish,  he  was 
subjected  to  speedy  and  severe  retribution.* 

To  this  unfortunate  commander  we  must  now  return  ; 
and  brief  space  may  suffice  to  relate  a  series  of  calamities 
which  might  weary  the  attention  and  exhaust  the  sympa- 
thies of  even  the  most  compassionate  reader.  The  conjec- 
ture which  Cavendish  formed  of  the  proceedings  of  Davis 
and  the  captain  of  the  Black  Pinnace  was  perfectly  correct. 
He  states  in  his  letter  that  he  believed  they  would  return 
to  Port  Desire, — a  safe  place  of  anchorage  for  ships  of 

*  "If,"  says  Purchas,  who  has  manifest  doubts  about  the  fidelity  of 
Davis  to  his  commander  on  this  voyage,—"  if  he  did  deal  treacherously, 
treachery  found  him  out."  After  this  period  Davis  made  no  fewer  than 
five  voyages  to  the  East  Indies,  and  at  last  lost  his  life  in  the  year  1605 
in  a  desperate  quarrel  with  a  Japanese. 

o 


158  ADVENTURES  OF    CAVENDISH. 

small  burthen,  though  not  such  as  he  could  safely  approach, 
— and  there  refresh  themselves,  lay  in  a  store  of  seals  and 
birds,  and  seize  a  favourable  season  to  pass  the  straits. 
And  they  did  so.  In  speaking  of  Davis  and  of  his  conduct, 
Cavendish  exclaims,  "  And  now  to  come  to  that  villain 
that  hath  been  the  death  of  me  and  the  decay  of  this  whole 
action, — I  mean  Davis, — whose  only  treachery  in  running 
from  me  hath  been  utter  ruin  of  all,  if  any  good  return  by 
him,  as  ever  you  love  me,  make  such  friends  as  he,  least  of 
all  others,  may  reap  least  gain.  I  assure  myself  you  will 
be  careful  in  all  friendship  of  my  last  requests.  My  debts 
which  be  owing  be  not  much  ;  but  I  (most  unfortunate 
villain  !)  was  matched  with  the  most  abject-minded  and  mu- 
tinous company  that  ever  was  carried  out  of  England  by 
any  man  living." — "  The  short  of  all  is  this, — Davis's  only 
intent  was  utterly  to  overthrow  me,  which  he  hath  well 
performed." 

After  the  Desire  and  the  Black  Pinnace  separated  from 
the  fleet,  the  Leicester  galleon  and  Roebuck  shaped  their 
course  for  Brazil,  keeping  sight  of  each  other.  In  36°  S. 
they  encountered  a  dreadful  storm,  and  were  parted.  For 
some  time  the  galleon  lay  at  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Vin- 
cent's ;  and  while  here  a  party,  almost  in  open  defiance  of 
the  orders  of  Cavendish,  landed  to  forage  for  provisions, 
and  plunder  the  houses  of  the  Portuguese  farmers  on  the 
coast.  They  were  wholly  cut  off,  to  the  number  of 
twenty-four  men  and  an  officer  ;  and  the  only  boat  which 
Cavendish  had  now  left  was  thus  lost. 

The  Roebuck  about  this  time  returned  without  masts  or 
sails,  and  "  in  the  most  miserable  case  ever  ship  was  in." 
The  captain-general  felt  the  want  of  the  boats  and  pinnace 
doubly  severe,  from  being  unable  in  the  larger  ships  to  enter 
the  harbours,  which  were  often  barred,  to  be  revenged  on 
the  "  base  dogs"  who  luid  killed  his  men.  At  some  risk  he 
made  an  attempt  to  go  up  the  river  before  the  town,  that  he 
might  have  the  gratification  of  razing  it ;  but  was  compelled 
by  his  company  to  desist  from  an  attempt  which  "  was  both 
desperate  and  most  dangerous."  With  some  difficulty  they 
got  back  into  deep  water,  and  with  the  boat  of  the  Roebuck 
and  a  crazy  boat  seized  from  the  Portuguese  a  party  landed, 
which  destroyed  a  few  of  the  farm-houses,  and  got  some 
provisions.  It  was  now  the  intention  of  Cavendish  to 


UNFORTUNATE  AFFAIR  AT  SPIRITO  SANTO.      159 

break  up  the  Roebuck,  and  with  the  Leicester  galleon,  as 
Davis  never  appeared,  return  to  the  straits  alone.  But  of 
this  purpose  he  did  not  venture  to  inform  his  company, 
lest  they  might  have  broken  out  into  open  mutiny.  So 
great  was  their  horror  of  returning,  "  that  all  of  the  better 
sort,"  he  says,  "  had  taken  an  oath  upon  the  Bible  to  die 
rather  than  go  back."  St.  Helena  was  therefore  the  point 
now  talked  of;  and  in  the  mean  while  an  attempt  was  made 
to  seize  three  Portuguese  ships  in  the  harbour  of  Spirito 
Santo.  The  plan  of  attack  was  unsuccessful.  Of  eighty 
armed  men  who  left  the  ship  on  this  ill-starred  expedition 
about  thirty-eight  were  killed  and  forty  wounded.  Among 
the  killed  was  Captain  Morgan,  an  officer  whom  Cavendish 
highly  esteemed,  who  in  this  expedition  was  taunted  into 
the  commission  of  acts  of  foolhardy  daring  by  the  insult- 
ing speeches  of  those  whom  he  led  ;  a  weakness  which, 
despite  of  their  better  judgment,  has  often  proved  fatal  to 
brave  men,  as  well  as  to  the  rash  persons  themselves  whose 
ignorance  and  vanity  tempt  them  to  become  the  critics  and 
censors  of  enterprises  of  which  they  cannot  comprehend  the 
danger.  Inability  to  endure  the  imputation  of  cowardice  is 
indeed  one  of  the  most  lamentable  infirmities  of  noble  minds. 
On  the  present  occasion  some  of  the  seamen  swore,  "  that 
they  never  thought  other  than  that  Morgan  was  a  coward 
that  durst  not  land  upon  a  bauble  ditch ;"  upon  which, 
wilfully  running  upon  what  he  saw  to  be  certain  destruc- 
tion, he  declared  that  he  would  land  happen  what  would, 
and  though  against  the  counsel  of  his  commander  who  re- 
mained in  the  ship.  The  consequences  have  been  told. 

One  circumstance  strongly  moved  the  generous  indigna- 
tion of  Cavendish.  A  party  with  the  great  boat  called  to 
another,  which  were  attempting  to  storm  a  fort,  to  come 
and  help  them  to  hasten  off,  as  they  were  exposed  to  a  gall- 
ing fire.  The  numbers  that  rushed  into  the  boat  ran  her 
aground,  and  ten  men  were  obliged  to  leave  her,  who,  to  save 
themselves  from  the  Indian  arrows  which  flew  thick,  again 
ran  in  under  the  fort,  and  poured  in  a  volley  of  musketry. 
Meanwhile  the  boat  was  got  afloat,  "  and  one  that  was  mas- 
ter of  the  Roebuck  (the  most  cowardly  villain  that  ever 
was  born  of  a  woman  !)  caused  them  in  the  boat  to  row 
away,  and  so  left  those  brave  men  a  spoil  for  the  Portu- 
gals.  Yet  they  waded  up  to  their  necks  in  the  water  to 


160  ISLAND  OF  ST.  SEBASTIAN. 

them ;  but  those  merciless  villains  in  the  boat  would  have 
no  pity  on  them.  Their  excuse  was,  that  the  boat  was 
so  full  of  water  that  had  they  come  in  she  would  have  sunk 
with  them  all  in  her.  Thus  vilely  were  those  poor  men  lost." 
By  the  fatal  adventure  which  he  has  thus  narrated,  Cav- 
endish, already  in  want  of  every  necessary,  was  left  with 
hardly  as  many  efficient  men  as  could  raise  the  anchor. 
To  add  to  his  already  accumulated  misfortunes  the  Roebuck 
forsook  him,  the  company  of  that  ship  being  resolved  to 
return  home ;  and,  though  the  wounded  lay  in  his  vessel, 
they  carried  off  the  two  surgeons  and  a  great  part  of  the 
common  stores.  In  these  distressing  circumstances  he  got 
to  the  small  uninhabited  island  of  St.  Sebastian,  where  he 
mended  the  old  boats,  and  obtained  a  seasonable  supply  of 
water,  of  which  they  were  in  great  want.  Again  Caven- 
dish spoke  of  returning  to  the  straits,  and  used  all  the  arts 
of  persuasion  with  his  company,  but  in  vain.  He  showed 
them  that  they  could  "  relieve  themselves  by  salting  seals 
and  birds,  &c.  ;  and  further,  should  they  get  through  the 
strait  (which  they  might  easily  perform,  considering  they 
had  the  chiefest  part  of  the  summer  before  them),  they 
could  not  but  make  a  most  rich  voyage  ;  and  that  we  should 
be  the  most  infamous  in  the  world,  being  within  600  leagues 
of  the  place  where  we  so  much  desired, — to  return  home 
again  so  far  being  most  infamous  and  beggarly.  These 
persuasions,"  continues  Cavendish,  "  took  no  place  with 
them  ;  but  most  boldly  they  all  affirmed  that  they  had 
sworn  they  would  never  again  go  to  the  straits  ;  neither  by 
no  means  would  they.  And  one  of  the  chiefest  of  this 
faction  most  proudly  and  stubbornly  uttered  these  words 
to  my  face,  in  presence  of  all  the  rest ;  which  I  seeing,  and 
finding  mine  own  faction  to  be  so  weak  (for  there  were  not 
any  favoured  my  side  but  my  poor  cousin  Locke,  and  the 
master  of  the  ship),  I  took  this  bold  companion  by  the  bo- 
som, and  with  mine  own  hands  put  a  rope  about  his  neck, 
meaning  resolutely  to  strangle  him,  for  weapon  about  me 
I  had  none.  His  companions,  seeing  one  of  their  chief 
champions  in  this  case,  and  perceiving  me  go  roundly  to 
work  with  him,  they  all  came  to  the  master  and  desired 
him  to  speak,  affirming,  they  would  all  be  ready  to  take  any 
course  I  thought  good  of ;  so  I,  hearing  this,  stayed  myself, 
and  let  the  fellow  go." 


ATTEMPT  TO  REACH  ST.  HELENA.     161 

Having  now  boldly  avowed  his  intention  of  returning  to 
the  straits,  Cavendish  landed  on  the  island  with  a  party  of 
his  soldiers  and  the  carpenters,  to  new-build  the  boat,  while 
the  sailors  on  board  mended  and  patched  up  the  rigging 
and  tackle  of  the  ship.  But  he  still  suspected  his  men  of 
treachery,  and  of  the  intention  of  deserting,  and  was  in 
constant  anxiety  to  get  them  once  more  on  board,  that  the 
ship  might  depart  for  the  straits.  Before  this  could  be 
accomplished,  Cavendish,  whom  Fortune  never  wearied  of 
persecuting,  sustained  another  severe  mischance.  The 
wounded  men  were  on  shore  on  the  island,  which  lay  about 
a  mile  from  the  mainland,  from  whence  the  Portuguese 
watched  all  the  proceedings  of  the  ship's  company  during 
the  building  of  the  boat.  Before  all  the  wood  and  water 
were  got  in,  and  while  some  soldiers  and  seamen  were  still 
on  the  island,  an  Irishman,  "  a  noble  villain,"  contrived  to 
go  over  to  the  continent  upon  a  raft,  and  betray  his  de- 
fenceless comrades  to  the  Portuguese.  This  was  done  in 
the  night-time  ;  and  besides  those  employed  on  the  island 
and  the  sick,  there  chanced  to  be  several  men  ashore,  who 
frequently  stole  away  from  the  ship  at  night  to  enjoy  the 
freedom  of  the  land.  All  were  indiscriminately  butchered. 
One  of  the  few  remaining  sails  which  lay  here  was  also 
seized,  and  in  their  distressed  circumstances  proved  another 
serious  loss.  "  Thus,"  says  the  luckless  adventurer,  "  I  was 
forced  to  depart,  Fortune  never  ceasing  to  lay  her  greatest 
adversities  upon  me.  And  now  I  am  grown  so  weak  that 
I  am  scarce  able  to  hold  the  pen  in  my  hand  ;  wherefore  I 
must  leave  you  to  inquire  of  the  rest  of  our  most  unhappy 
proceedings.  But  know  this,  that  for  the  strait  I  could  by 
no  means  get  my  company  to  give  their  consent  to  go.  In 
truth,  I  desired  nothing  more  than  to  attempt  that  course, 
rather  desiring  to  die  in  going  forward  than  basely  in  re- 
turning back  again ;  but  God  would  not  suffer  me  to  die 
so  happy  a  man."  These  "  unhappy  proceedings"  to  which 
he  refers  may,  so  far  as  they  are  known,  be  very  briefly 
noticed.  An  attempt  was  made  to  reach  the  island  of  St. 
Helena,  for  which  the  company  had  reluctantly  consented 
to  steer  only  on  Cavendish  solemnly  declaring  that  to 
England  he  would  never  go ;  and  that,  if  they  refused  to 
take  such  courses  as  he  intended,  the  "  ship  and  all  should 
sink  in  •  the  seas  together."  This  for  a  time  made  them 
O2 


162  DEATH    OF    CAVENDISH. 

more  tractable  ;  but  having  beat  to  20°  S.  they  refused 
to  proceed  farther,  choosing  rather  to  die  where  they  were 
"  than  be  starved  in  searching  for  an  island  which  could 
never  be  found  again."  They  were,  however,  once  more 
induced  to  proceed  southward,  and  in  dreadful  weather 
beat  back  to  28°  S.,  and  stood  for  St.  Helena,  which  was 
most  unhappily  missed,  owing  to  contrary  winds  and  the 
unskilfulness  of  the  sailing-master.  One  more  effort  this 
unfortunate  commander  made  to  induce  his  mutinous  crew 
to  regain  the  island,  alarming  them  with  the  scarcity  of 
provisions ;  but  they  unanimously  replied,  "  that  they 
would  be  perished  to  death  rather  than  not  make  for  Eng- 
land." 

It  is  believed  that  Mr.  Cavendish  did  not  long  survive 
the  events  recorded  above  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  he  died 
before  the  ship  reached  England.  His  letter,  from  which 
we  have  quoted,  was  not  closed  when  the  galleon  reached 
8°  N.  From  its  commencement, — and  it  must  have  been 
written  at  many  different  sittings, — Cavendish  had  con- 
sidered himself  a  dying  man.  It  opens  with  great  ten- 
derness : — "  Most  loving  friend,  there  is  nothing  in  this 
world  that  makes  a  truer  trial  of  friendship,  than  at  death 
to  show  mindfulness  of  love  and  friendship,  which  now  you 
shall  make  a  perfect  experience  of;  desiring  you  to  hold 
my  love  as  dear,  dying  poor,  as  if  I  had  been  most  infi- 
nitely rich.  The  success  of  this  most  unfortunate  action, 
the  bitter  torments  whereof  lie  so  heavy  upon  me,  as  with 
much  pain  am  I  able  to  write  these  few  lines,  much  less  to 
make  discourse  to  you  of  all  the  adverse  haps  that  have 
befallen  me  in  this  voyage,  the  least  whereof  is  my  death." 
He  adverts  to  the  illness  of  "  a  most  true  friend,  whom  to 
name  my  heart  bleeds,"  who,  like  himself,  became  the  victim 
of  the  complicated  distresses  of  this  voyage.  After  the  crown- 
ing misfortune  of  missing  St.  Helena,  he  says,  "  And  now  to 
tell  you  of  my  greatest  grief,  which  was  the  sickness  of  my 
dear  kinsman  John  Locke,  who  by  this  time  was  grown  in 
great  weakness,  by  reason  whereof  he  desired  rather  quiet- 
ness and  contentedness  in  our  course,  than  such  continual 
disquietness  as  never  ceased  me.  And  now  by  this,  what 
with  grief  for  him  and  the  continual  trouble  I  endured 
among  such  hellhounds,  my  spirits  were  clean  spent,  wish- 
ing myself  upon  any  desert  place  in  the  world,  there  to  die, 


HIS    CHARACTER.  163 

rather  than  thus  basely  return  home  again.  Which  course, 
I  swear  to  you,  I  had  put  in  execution,  had  I  found  an 
island  which  thecardes  (charts)  make  to  be  in  8°  S.  of  the 
line.  I  swear  to  you  I  sought  it  with  all  diligence,  mean- 
ing there  to  have  ended  my  most  unfortunate  life.  But 
God  suffered  not  such  happiness  to  light  upon  me,  for  I 
could  by  no  means  find  it ;  so,  as  I  was  forced  to  go  towards 
England,  and  having  got  eight  degrees  by  the  north  of  the 
line,  I  lost  my  most  dearest  cousin.  And  now  consider, 
whether  a  heart  made  of  flesh  be  able  to  endure  so  many 
misfortunes,  all  falling  upon  me  without  intermission.  And 
I  thank  my  God,  that  in  ending  me  he  hath  pleased  to  rid  me 
of  all  farther  troubles  and  mishaps."  The  rest  of  the  letter 
refers  to  his  private  concerns,  and  especially  to  the  discharge 
of  his  debts  and  the  arrangement  of  his  affairs  for  this  pur- 
pose,— an  act  of  friendship  which  he  expected  from  the 
kindness  of  the  gentleman  he  addressed.  It  then  takes  an 
affecting  farewell  of  life  and  of  the  friend  for  whom  he  cher- 
ished so  warm  an  affection. 

In  his  two  voyages  Cavendish  experienced  the  greatest 
extremes  of  fortune  ;  his  first  adventure  being  even  more 
brilliant  and  successful  than  the  last — chiefly  through  the 
bad  discipline  and  evil  dispositions  of  his  company — was 
disastrous  and  unhappy.  Cavendish  was  still  very  young 
when  he  died.  No  naval  commander  ever  more  certainly 
sunk  under  the  disease  to  which  so  many  brave  men  have 
fallen  victims, — a  broken  heart.  In  many  things  his  conduct 
discovered  the  rashness  and  impetuosity  of  youth,  and  the 
want  of  that  temper  and  self-command  which  are  among 
the  first  qualities  of  a  naval  chief.  The  reproach  of  cruelty 
or  at  least  of  culpable  indifference  to  the  claims  of  humanity, 
which,  from  transactions  in  both  voyages,  and  especially 
in  the  first,  must  rest  upon  his  memory,  ought  in  justice 
to  be  shared  with  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  state 
of  moral  feeling  among  the  class  to  which  he  belonged  by 
birth.  By  the  aristocracy  "  the  vulgar,"  *'  the  common 
sort,"  were  still  regarded  as  creatures  of  a  different  and 
inferior  species  ;  while  among  seamen  the  destruction  of 
Spaniards  and  "  Portugals"  was  regarded  as  a  positive 
virtue.  By  all  classes  negroes,  Indians,  and  gentiles 
were  held  in  no  more  esteem  than  brute  animals, — human 
life  as  existing  in  beings  so  abject  being  regarded  as  of  no 


164  DAMPIER. 

value  whatever.  But  if  Cavendish  was  tinged  with  the 
faults  of  his  class,  he  partook  largely  of  its  virtues, — high 
spirit,  courage,  and  intrepidity.  Those  who  might  be  led 
to  judge  of  some  points  of  his  conduct  with  strictness  will 
be  disposed  to  lenity  by  the  recollection  of  his  sufferings. 
As  an  English  navigator  his  name  is  imperishable.  On 
the  authority  of  the  accurate  and  veracious  Stowe,  we  may 
in  conclusion  state  that  Thomas  Cavendish  "was  of  a 
delicate  wit  and  personage." 


DAMPIER. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Bucaniers  of  America. 

Origin  of  the  Bucaniers— Cattle-hunters  of  Hispaniola— Policy  of 
France  and  England — Cruelty  to  the  Caribs — Seizure  of  St.  Christo- 
pher's— Bucanier  Settlement  of  Tortuga — Customs  of  the  Buca- 
niers— Their  Maxims— Manner  of  dividing  their  Spoils— Their  Char- 
acter—Capture of  Jamaica — Enterprise  of  Legrand—  Portugues  and 
Mansvelt — The  Bucanier  Chief  Lolormois — His  Cruelties — Manners 
of  the  Bucaniers— Montbar  the  Exterminator — First  Expedition  of 
Morgan— Pillage  of  Puerto  del  Principe — Storming  of  Porto  Bello— 
Heroism  of  the  Spanish  Governor — Capture  of  Maracaibo  and  Gibral- 
tar— Stratagems  of  Morgan — Projected  Bucanier  Settlement— Storm- 
ing of  the  Castle  of  Chagre — March  of  the  Bucaniers  to  Panama — 
Battle  with  the  Spaniards— Cruelty  of  the  Freebooters— Return  of  the 
Bucaniers  to  Chagre — Perfidy  of  Morgan — Proclamation  of  the 
Governor  of  Jamaica — Concluding  History  of  Morgan — The  Buca- 
niers again  increase— Capture  of  Vera  Cruz— They  direct  their  Atten- 
tion to  Peru— Narrative  of  Dampier. 

CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  DAMPIER,  the  remarkable  person 
whose  eventful  life  forms  the  subject  of  the  remaining  por- 
tion of  this  volume,  was  so  long  and  so  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  BUCANIKRS  of  AMERICA,  that  a  brief  ac- 
count of  this  extraordinary  brotherhood  forms  an  almost 
indispensable  introduction  to  the  adventures  and  discoveries 
of  this  eminent  navigator. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  BUCANIERS.  165 

The  Bucaniers  owe  their  origin  to  the  monopolizing 
spirit  and  selfish  and  jealous  policy  with  which  Spain  ad- 
ministered the  affairs  of  her  West  India  colonies.  Early 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  both  English  and  French  ships, 
bound  on  trafficking  adventures,  had  found  their  way  to 
these  settlements  ;  but  it  was  not  till  after  the  enterprises 
of  Drake,  Raleigh,  and  Cumberland  that  they  became  fre- 
quent. The  jealousy  of  Spain  had  been  alarmed  by  their 
first  appearance  ;  and  the  adoption  of  that  system  of  offen- 
sive interference  with  the  vessels  of  every  nation  that  ven- 
tured near  the  tropic  soon  gave  rise  to  the  well-known 
maxim  of  the  Bucaniers,  "  No  peace  beyond  the  Line." 

Though  the  name, 

"  Linked  to  one  virtue  and  a  thousand  crimes," 

by  which  the  freebooters  came  to  be  distinguished,  is  of 
much  later  date  than  the  era  of  Drake  and  his  daring  fol- 
lower John  Oxnam,*  there  is  no  great  violation  of  historical 
truth  in  ascribing  to  them  the  character  which  it  signified, 
of  indiscriminate  plunderers  of  the  Spaniards  by  sea  and 
land,  and  in  peace  as  well  as  in  war. 

To  the  gradual  rise  of  the  extraordinary  association,  of 
which  Drake  and  Oxnam  were  only  the  precursors,  many 
causes  contributed.  The  diminished  population  and  de- 
cayed manufactures  of  old  Spain  could  no  longer  supply 

*  John  Oxnam  was  one  of  the  followers  of  Drake  in  his  attempt  upon 
Nombre  de  Dios  and  Panama,  and  from  the  experience  gained  in  that 
adventure  formed  one  of  the  boldest  designs  known  in  the  records  of 
privateering.  He  held  a  very  low  situation  among  Drake's  crew;  but 
being  a  man  of  capacity  as  well  as  of  boundless  courage,  he  obtained 
credit  to  equip  a  bark  of  140  tons  burthen,  manned  by  70  resolute  fellows. 
Concealing  his  vessel  on  the  coast,  with  these  followers  and  a  party  of 
Indians  at  war  with  the  Spaniards  he  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Darien, 
carrying  with  him  two  pieces  of  ordnance.  On  a  river  which  fell  into 
the  South  Sea  he  setup  a  pinnace,  in  which  he  embarked  with  all  his 
company  and  the  Indians,  and  reaching  the  ocean  undiscovered,  he  ranged 
at  will  along  the  coast  and  among  the  Pearl  Islands  in  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Michael,  and  acquired  immense  booty  in  gold  and  silver  bars.  The  issue 
of  the  adventure  was  less  fortunate.  The  Governor  of  Panama  obtained 
intelligence  of  the  English  pirate,  whom  he  traced  into  a  river.  Oxnam 
and  his  party  might  have  escaped  had  they  been  able  to  abandon  the 
spoils,  which  they  had  concealed.  Of  their  number  some  were  killed  in 
a  skirmish ;  others,  among  whom  was  Oxnam,  were  hanged  as  pirates. 
It  is  with  strict  propriety  we  name  this  brave  and  enterprising  English- 
man the  first  Bucanier. 


166       CATTLE-HUNTERS  OF  CUBA  AND  HISPANIOLA. 

her  wealthy  and  rapidly-increasing  settlements  with  those 
commodities  which  the  West  Indies  and  South  America 
still  continue  to  receive  from  the  workshops  and  looms  of 
France,  England,  and  the  Low  Countries ;  nor  could  the 
strictness  and  severity  of  the  Spanish  laws  for  regulating 
trade  prevent  the  settlers  on  many  parts  of  the  coast  and 
the  islands  from  cheaply  supplying  themselves  with  luxuries 
and  necessaries  brought  direct  from  these  countries.  Thus 
the  contraband  trade,  eagerly  followed  by  the  ships  of  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Holland,  and  encouraged  by  the  colonists, 
increased  in  defiance  of  prohibitions  and  of  guarda  costas, 
as  the  ships  armed  to  protect  the  exclusive  commerce  of 
Spain  were  named,  and  became  a  thriving  seminary  for  the 
growth  of  maritime  freebooters,  self-defence  leading  the 
contraband  traders  to  retaliation,  injustice  to  reprisal,  and 
spoliation  to  actual  piracy. 

Another  collateral  branch  of  the  bucaniering  system 
sprung  up  at  the  same  time  in  a  different  quarter.  No  por- 
tion of  the  New  World  had  suffered  more  from  the  injustice 
and  enormous  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  than  the  fine  islands 
of  Cuba  and  Hispaniola.  About  the  beginning  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  mines  and  plantations  of  these  islands 
had  been  abandoned  for  the  more  productive  new  settle- 
ments and  richer  mines  of  Mexico  ;  and  the  desolated  and 
depopulated  tracts,  from  which  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
had  been  extirpated,  were  soon  overrun  by  immense  herds 
of  cattle,  which,  originally  introduced  by  the  Spaniards, 
had  multiplied  so  rapidly  that  it  was  become  a  profitable 
employment  to  hunt  them  for  the  hides  and  tallow  alone. 
While  the  matadores  or  Spanish  hunters  pursued  this  avo- 
cation, a  more  peaceful  description  of  settlers  began  to 
form  plantations  around  them,  and  to  both  classes  the  stolen 
Visits  of  the  French  and  English  traders  became  every  year 
more  welcome.  From  trafficking  on  the  coast,  and  occa- 
sionally foraging  for  provisions  for  their  vessels  on  these  un- 
inhabited shores,  the  smugglers  from  time  to  time  adopted 
the  hunter's  life,  and  ranged  at  will,  though  regarded  by  the 
Spanish  government  and  settlers  as  interlopers. 

The  first  predatory  hunters  of  Cuba  and  Hispaniola,  if 
men  following  the  chase  in  a  desert  may  be  so  harshly 
termed,  were  natives  of  France.  From  the  customs  con- 
nected with  their  vocation  in  the  woods  arose  the  formidable 


POLICY  OF  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND.  167 

name  of  Bucanier,  by  which  the  association  came  to  be  dis- 
tinguished, whether  pirates  or  forayers,  on  shore  or  in  the 
wilderness.  The  term  was  adopted  from  the  Carib  Indians, 
who  called  the  flesh  which  they  prepared  boucan,  and  gave 
the  hut  where  it  was  slowly  dried  and  smoked  on  wooden 
hurdles  or  barbecues  the  same  appellation.  To  the  title 
by  which  the  desperadoes  of  England  were  known  the 
French  preferred  the  name  of  Flibustier,  said  to  be  a  corrup- 
tion of  the  English  word  freebooter.  The  Dutch  named 
the  natives  of  their  country  employed  in  this  lawless  mode 
of  life  Sea-rovers.  Brethren  of  the  Coast  was  another 
general  denomination  for  this  fraternity  of  pirates  and  out- 
laws ;  till  all  distinctions  were  finally  lost  in  the  title  of 
BUCANIERS  OF  AMERICA.  But  the  same  feeling  which 
induced  men  of  respectable  family  to  lay  aside  their  real 
names  on  entering  this  association,  led  others  of  them  to 
sweeten  their  imaginations  with  a  term  less  intimately  allied 
with  every  species  of  crime  and  excess  ;  and  Dampier, 
among  others,  always  spoke  of  the  individual  members  of 
the  brotherhood  as  "  privateers,"  while  their  vocation  of 
piracy  was  named  privateering. 

The  depredations  of  this  fortuitous  assemblage  of  bold 
and  dissolute  men  had  been  carried  on  in  time  of  peace  as 
hunters,  smugglers,  and  pirates,  and  in  time  of  war  as 
privateers  holding  commissions  from  their  respective  coun- 
tries, for  a  long  series  of  years  before  they  attempted  to 
form  any  regular  settlement.  During  this  time  they  had 
acted  as  the  rude  pioneers  of  the  European  states  to  which 
they  respectively  belonged,  clearing  the  way  for  the  indus- 
trious and  peaceful  settlers  of  France  and  England,  both  of 
which  countries  secretly  cherished,  while  they  ostentatiously 
disclaimed,  the  Bucaniers.  From  the  era  of  the  discovery 
of  Columbus,  both  of  these  nations  had  cast  longing  eyes 
upon  the  West  India  islands,  and  if  not  under  the  auspices, 
yet  by  the  assistance  of  their  bold  though  lawless  offspring 
the  Bucaniers,  settlements  were  at  last  effected.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  17th  century,  a  point  on  which  to  rest 
their  levers  was  all  that  was  required ;  and  by  a  previous 
treaty  of  joint  occupation  and  partition,  the  French  and 
English,  in  1625,  on  the  same  day,  landed  at  opposite 
points  of  the  island  of  St.  Christopher's,  and  took  posses- 
sion. The  rights  of  the  Caribs,  whom  the  Spaniards  had 


168  SPANISH  CRUELTY  TO  THE  CARIES. 

neither  been  able  to  enslave  nor  wholly  to  extirpate,  do  not 
appear  to  have  obtained  a  moment's  consideration  from  the 
statesmen  of  either  France  or  England.*  Though  the 
Spaniards  had  no  settlement  upon  this  island  themselves, 
their  policy  and  interests  did  not  quietly  permit  the  natives 
of  two  active  and  industrious  nations  to  obtain  a  permanent 
footing  at  a  point  whence  they  might  quickly  extend  their 
territory  ;  and  instead  of  patiently  waiting  the  result  of 
misunderstanding  between  the  colonists,  which  would 
more  effectually  have  fought  their  battle,  in  1629  they  ex- 
pelled the  intruders  by  force  of  arms,  after  a  residence  of 
above  three  years.  The  settlers  only  waited  the  departure 
of  the  Spanish  armament  to  return  to  their  old  possessions, 
though  some  of  them,  thus  cruelly  expelled  from  their  new- 

*  The  opinion  held  of  the  Indians  in  Europe,  even  towards  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  may  be  gathered  from  Exquemelin,  a  Dutch 
Bucanier,  whose  history  of  the  proceedings  of  his  order  is  considered  a 
work  of  such  authority,  that  Raynal  and  other  eminent  writers  have 
drawn  most  of  their  information  from  its  pages.  The  Bucanier  histo- 
rian, in  accounting  for  the  number  of  wild  dogs  which  overran  the 
islands,  states  that  "The occasion  was,  that  the  Spaniards,  having  pos- 
sessed themselves  of  these  isles,  found  them  much  peopled  wth  Indians. 
These  were  a  barbarous  sort  of  people,  totally  given  to  sensuality  and  a 
brutish  custom  of  life,  hating  all  manner  of  labour,  and  only  inclined  to 
move  from  place  to  place,  killing  and  making  war  against  their  neigh- 
bours, not  out  of  any  ambition  to  reign,  but  only  because  they  agreed  not 
with  themselves  in  some  common  terms  of  language.  Hence,  perceiv- 
ing the  dominion  of  the  Spaniards  did  lay  a  great  restriction  upon  their 
lazy  and  brutish  customs,  they  conceived  an  incredible  odium  against 
them,  such  as  never  was  to  be  reconciled  ;  but  more  especially  because 
they  saw  them  take  possession  of  their  kingdoms  and  dominions.'  Here- 
upon they  made  against  them  all  the  resistance  they  were  capable  of, 
opposing  everywhere  their  designs  to  the  utmost  of  their  power ;  until 
that  the  Spaniards,  finding  themselves  to  be  cruelly  hated  by  these 
Indians,  and  nowhere  secure  from  their  treachery,  resolved  to  extirpate 
and  ruin  them  every  one.  *  *  *  Hereupon  these  first  conquerors 
of  the  New  World  made  use  of  dogs  to  range  and  search  the  inlricatest 
thickets  of  woods  and  forests  for  these  their  implacable  and  unconquer- 
able enemies.  By  these  means  they  forced  them  to  leave  their  ancient 
refuge  and  submit  unto  the  sword,  seeing  no  milder  usage  could  serve 
their  turn.  Hereupon  they  killed  some,  and,  quartering  their  bodies, 
placed  them  in  the  highways,  to  the  intent  that  others  might  take  warn- 
ing from  such  punishment  not  to  incur  like  danger.  But  severity  proved 
to  be  of  ill  consequence;  for,  instead  of  frightening  them  and  reducing 
their  minds  to  a  civil  society,  they  conceived  such  horror  of  the  Spaniards 
and  their  proceedings,  that  they  resolved  to  detest  and  fly  their  sight  for 
ever ;  and  hence  greater  part  died  in  caves  and  subterraneous  places  of 
the  woods  and  mountains,  in  which  places  I  myself  have  seen  many 
times  great  numbers  of  human  bones." 


ST.  CHRISTOPHER'S — TORTUGA.  169 

formed  homes,  and  rendered  desperate  by  poverty  and  hatred 
of  the  Spaniards,  had  meanwhile  augmented  the  bands  of 
the  freebooters,  and  to  the  reckless  bravery  of  these  lawless 
vagabonds,  brought  their  own  knowledge  and  experience, 
and  the  habits  of  social  life. 

It  was  thus  that  step  by  step  the  narrow  policy  and  op- 
pression of  the  Spaniards  raised  up  those  predatory  hordes 
haunting  the  ocean  and  the  coasts,  which,  from  infringing 
their  absurd  commercial  laws,  or  snooting  a  wild  bullock  in 
the  forests,  came  at  last  continually  to  infest  their  trade  and 
to  destroy  and  pillage  their  richest  settlements. 

As  a  convenient  mart  for  their  trade,  which  had  been  pro- 
digiously increased  by  the  settlement  of  St.  Christopher's 
and  other  causes,  the  hunters  of  Hispaniola  and  Cuba  seized 
the  island  of  Tortuga  by  surprising  the  small  Spanish  gar- 
rison which  defended  it,  and  here  built  magazines  for  their 
hides,  tallow,  and  boucan,  or  dried  meat,  established  their 
head-quarters,  and  opened  a  place  of  retreat  for  all  Bucaniers. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  European  adventurers  of  every 
nation  save  Spain  flocked  to  Tortuga;  and  French  and 
English  settlements  were  rapidly  planted,  almost  at  random, 
on  different  islands,  the  new  colonists  being  the  natural 
allies  and  also  the  best  customers  of  the  Bucaniers,  whom 
they,  on  the  other  hand,  supplied  with  powder,  shot,  rum, 
tobacco,  hatchets,  and  every  thing  necessary  to  their  wild 
and  irregular  mode  of  life.  As  these  new  colonies  rose  into 
consequence  they  were  severally  claimed  by  the  mother- 
country  of  the  settlers,  who,  whether  French  or  English, 
were  not  unfrequently  turned  out  to  make  way  for  new  pro- 
prietors who  had  been  able  iniquitously  to  obtain  or  pur- 
chase from  the  venal  government  at  home  the  lands  cleared 
and  improved  by  the  industry  of  the  original  adventurers. 
Many  of  the  French  settlers,  indignant  at  the  unmerited 
injustice  of  their  distant  government,  who  had  left  them 
unprotected  in  the  first  instance  and  pillaged  them  in  the 
last,  retired  to  other  deserts,  or  joined  the  ranks  of  their 
friends  the  Bucaniers. 

The  Bucanier  settlement  of  Tortuga,  situated  at  the  very 
threshold  of  Hispaniola,  was  on  every  account  obnoxious  to 
the  Spaniards,  who  took  the  first  opportunity  of  destroying 
it.  This  was  effected  while  the  boldest  of  the  population 
were  absent  in  the  chase,  which  they  often  followed  for 
P 


170       CUSTOMS  OF  THE  BUCANIER8. 

months,  and  even  years  together,  on  the  western  shores  of 
Hispaniola,  without  once  visiting  the  scene  of  comparative 
civilization  which  they  had  created  on  the  smaller  island. 
Of  the  more  peaceful  of  the  settlers  of  Tortuga,  who  had 
already  formed  plantations  and  begun  with  success  to  culti- 
vate tobacco,  which  turned  out  of  excellent  quality,  many 
were  massacred ;  those  who  fled  to  the  woods  and  after- 
ward surrendered  themselves  were  hanged ;  while  only  a 
few  escaped  to  their  brethren  in  the  forests  of  Hispaniola. 
Thus  every  new  occurrence  tended  to  inflame  the  mutual 
hatred  which  had  so  long  subsisted  between  the  Spaniards 
and  all  other  Europeans,  and  to  propagate  outrage.  Tor- 
tuga was  soon  abandoned  by  the  Spaniards,  who  took  so 
much  pains  to  destroy  the  nest  that  they  flattered  themselves 
the  hornets  would  not  again  congregate.  In  this  they  were 
deceived.  The  Bucaniers  returned  almost  immediately,  and 
became  more  formidable  than  ever,  giving  Spain  a  practical 
lesson  on  the  impolicy  of  converting  those  who  were  in  the 
fair  way  of  becoming  peaceful  and  industrious  neighbours 
into  active  enemies,  regularly  banded  and  organized,  and 
cordially  united  against  a  common  foe. 

Above  three  hundred  of  the  hunters  returned  to  Tortuga 
after  it  had  been  thus  desolated  and  abandoned  by  the  Span- 
iards ;  and  their  ranks  were  speedily  recruited  by  constant 
levies  of  the  young,  the  brave,  and  the  enterprising  of  differ- 
ent European  countries. 

From  about  this  time  cruising  upon  the  Spaniards  became 
more  and  more  frequent ;  and  as  the  diminished  number  of 
cattle  made  the  chase  a  less  profitable  occupation,  piratical 
excursions  increased  and  became  more  bold  and  alarming. 
The  Brethren  of  the  Coast  had  now  been  long  known  as  a 
distinct  association,  and  their  laws,  manners,  and  customs 
had  become  the  subject  of  speculation  and  curiosity. 
Though  their  peculiarities  have  been  egregiouslv  magnified 
by  the  natural  love  of  the  marvellous,  from  which  even  phi- 
losophic historians  are  not  altogether  exempt,  many  of  their 
customs  were  sufficiently  remarkable  to  deserve  notice.  Like 
the  laws  and  customs  of  other  communities,  the  "  Statutes 
of  the  Bucaniers"  originated  in  the  necessities  and  exi- 
gences of  their  condition.  Property,  so  far  as  regarded  the 
means  of  sustenance,  whether  obtained  in  the  chase  or  by 
pillage,  was  in  common  among  this  hardy  brotherhood  ;  and 


THEIR   USAGES    AND   MAXIMS.  171 

as  they  had  no  domestic  ties,  neither  wife  nor  child,  brother 
nor  sister,  being  known  among  the  Bucaniers,  the  want  of 
family  relations  was  supplied  by  strict  comradeship, — one 
partner  occasionally  attending  to  household  duties,  while 
the  other  was  engaged  in  the  chase.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  surviving  partner  in  this  firm,  whether  seaman  or  hunter, 
became  the  general  heir ;  and  this  was  probably  often  the 
case,  though  not  a  fixed  law,  as  the  Bucaniers  frequently 
bequeathed  property  to  their  relatives  in  France  or  England. 
Their  chief  virtue  was  courage,  which,  urged  by  despera- 
tion, was  often  carried  to  an  extreme  unparalleled  among 
other  warlike  associations.  The  fear  of  the  gallows,  which 
has  frequently  converted  the  thief  into  a  murderer,  made 
the  Bucanier  a  hero  and  a  savage.  Hardihood,  the  habit 
and  the  power  of  extreme  endurance,  might  also,  if  exerted 
in  a  better  cause,  be  reckoned  among  the  virtues  of  the 
Bucaniers,  had  not  their  long  seasons  of  entire  privation 
been  always  followed  by  scenes  of  the  most  brutal  excess. 
Their  grand  principle,  the  one  thing  needful  to  their  exist- 
ence, was  fidelity  ;  and  so  far  at  least  as  regarded  the  Span- 
iards the  maxim  of  "  honour  among  thieves"  was  never 
more  scrupulously  observed  than  among  them.  As  their 
associations  were  voluntary,  their  engagements  never  ex- 
tended beyond  the  cruise  or  enterprise  on  hand,  though  they 
were  frequently  renewed.  The  ablest,  the  most  brave,  ac- 
tive, fortunate,  and  intriguing  of  their  number  was  elected 
their  commander  ;  but  all  the  fighting-men  appear  to  have 
assisted  at  councils.  The  same  power  which  chose  their 
leader  could  displace  him,  which  was  frequently  done  either 
from  caprice  or  expediency.  They  sometimes  settled  per- 
sonal quarrels  by  duel ;  but  offences  against  the  fraternity 
were  visited  by  different  punishments,  as  in  extreme  cases 
death,  abandonment  on  a  desert  island,  or  simply  banish- 
ment from  the  society.  There  appears  to  have  been  no 
obstacle  to  voluntarily  quitting  the  brotherhood  as  often  as 
inclination  dictated  such  a  step.  Many  of  the  peculiar 
habits  of  the  Bucaniers  are  so  fully  detailed  in  the  adven- 
tures of  Dampier,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  expatiate  upon 
them  in  this  place.  In  the  division  of  their  booty,  one  main 
concern  of  all  banditti,  they  appear,  as  soon  as  bucaniering 
became  a  system,  to  have  followed  nearly  the  same  laws 
which  regulate  privateers;  the  owners'  shares  being  of 


172          MANNER  OF  DIVIDING  THEIR  SPOILS. 

course  included  in  those  of  the  company,  who  were  them- 
selves the  owners.  A  party  being  agreed  upon  a  cruise, 
the  day  and  place  for  embarkation  was  fixed,  and  every 
man  repaired  on  board  the  ship  with  a  specified  quantity  of 
powder  and  shot.  The  next  concern  was  to  procure  pro- 
visions, which  consisted  mostly  of  pork.  Many  of  the 
Spaniards  raised  large  herds  of  swine  for  the  supply  of  the 
planters,  and  from  their  yards  abundance  was  procured  with 
no  trouble  save  that  in  which  the  ferocious  Bucaniers  de- 
lighted,— robbery,  often  accompanied  by  murder.  Turtle 
slightly  salted  was  another  article  of  the  food  which  they 
stored,  and  for  beeves  and  wild  hogs  they  trusted  to  their 
firearms.  Bread  they  seldom  tasted,  and  at  sea  never 
thought  about,  though  in  later  periods  they  sometimes  pro- 
cured supplies  of  cassada,  maize,  and  potatoes.  Of  this 
food  every  man  ate  generally  twice  a  day,  or  at  his  own  plea- 
sure, and  without  limitation  ;  there  being  in  this  respect  no 
distinction  between  the  commander  and  the  meanest  sea- 
man. The  vessel  fairly  victualled,  a  final  council  was  held, 
which  determined  the  destination  of  the  cruise  and  the  plan 
of  operations ;  and  articles  were  generally  drawn  up  and 
subscribed  which  regulated  the  division  of  the  spoils.  The 
carpenter,  the  sailmaker,  the  surgeon,  and  the  commander 
were  in  the  first  place  paid  out  of  the  common  stock. 
Wounds  were  next  considered ;  the  value  of  the  right  arm, 
the  most  useful  member  of  the  Bucanier's  body,  being 
reckoned  equal  to  six  slaves,  or  six  hundred  pieces  of  eight. 
It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  eye  and  finger  of  the  Buca- 
nier  had  the  same  value,  which  was  one  slave,  or  a  hundred 
pieces  of  eight.  The  remainder  was  equally  shared,  save 
that  the  captain,  besides  his  specific  agreement,  had  five 
shares,  and  his  mate  two.  Boys  received  a  half-share. 
The  first  maxim  in  the  code  of  the  Bucanier,  dictated  by 
necessity,  was  "  no  prey,  no  pay."  An  oath  was  some- 
times taken  to  prevent  desertion  before  the  cruise  was 
ended,  and  against  concealment  of  booty. 

In  their  cruises  the  freebooters  often  put  into  remote  har- 
bours to  careen  or  refit  their  ships,  to  obtain  fruits  and  fish, 
to  lie  in  wait  for  the  Spanish  traders,  and  to  plunder  either 
natives  or  Spaniards.  The  former  they  sometimes  carried 
away,  selling  the  men  as  slaves,  while  the  women  were 
compelled  to  labour  among  those  of  the  Bucaniers  who  fol- 


THEIR    SENTIMENTS    OF    RELIGION.  173 

lowed  the  chase.  The  dress  of  these  ruffians  assorted  well 
with  their  brutal  and  ferocious  character.  It  has  been  de- 
scribed as  a  fixed  costume,  though  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  same  necessity  which  dictates  to  the  savage  his  clothing 
of  skins  prescribed  to  the  Bucanier  his  filthy  and  terrific 
garb.  This  consisted  of  a  shirt  dipped  in  the  blood  of  the 
cattle  hunted  and  killed ;  trousers  prepared  in  the  same 
rude  manner ;  buskins  without  stockings,  a  cap  with  a  small 
front,  and  a  leathern  girdle,  into  which  were  stuck  knives, 
sabres,  and  pistols.  The  bloody  garments,  though  attrib- 
uted to  design,  were  probably  among  the  hunters  the  effect 
of  chance  and  slovenliness.  Such  was  the  complete  equip- 
ment of  the  Bucanier. 

Among  some  few  of  the  French  Bucaniers,  who  had  been 
driven  to  adopt  an  outlaw's  life  by  the  severity  and  injustice 
of  the  colonial  government  and  other  causes,  there  some- 
times existed  sentiments  of  honour,  and  even  a  perverted 
sense  of  religion.  Prayers  were  occasionally  put  up  for  the 
success  of  a  piratical  expedition,  and  thanks  given  for  vic- 
tory. We  hear  of  one  Bucanier  commander  who  shot  a 
seaman  for  behaving  indecently  during  the  performance  of 
mass,  but  never  once  of  the  chalices  and  images  belonging 
to  any  church  being  spared,  whether  the  plunderers  were 
French  Catholics  or  English  heretics.  One  rare  instance 
is  mentioned  where  a  Bucanier  carried  his  notions  of  hon- 
our to  so  overstrained  a  height  as  to  punish  breach  of  faith 
with  a  Spaniard,  and  to  repress  symptoms  of  treachery  to 
the  common  foe  with  the  most  prompt  severity.  Under  a 
humane  commander  these  lawless  bands  were  occasionally 
less  brutal  and  remorseless ;  though,  taking  them  as  a 
whole,  more  unfavourable  specimens  of  humanity  could  not 
be  selected.  In  the  Bucanier  were  united  the  cruelty  and 
ferocity  of  the  savage  with  the  circumvention  and  rapacity 
which  are  among  the  worst  consequences  of  an  imperfect 
civilization.  The  Bucaniers,  however,  have  their  admirers. 
They  are  said  to  have  been  open  and  unsuspecting  among 
themselves,  liberal  in  their  dealings,  and  guided  in  their  pri- 
vate intercourse  by  a  frank  and  strictly  honourable  spirit. 
The  French  fondly  name  them  "  nos  braves ;"  the  English 
boast  of  their  unparalleled  exploits  ;  and  writers  of  fiction 
grace  the  character  with  many  brilliant  traits  of  generosity 
and  delicacy  of  feeling.  We  confess  that  there  appears  little 
P2 


174  CAPTURE  OF  JAMAICA. 

in  their  actual  history  to  vindicate  the  elevated  character 
given  by  those  who  from  bravoes  and  lawless  ruffians  would 
fashion  heroes  of  romance,  and  convert  the  Bucaniers  of 
America  into  a  new  order  of  chivalry  ;  yet  there  is  a  wild 
and  vivid  interest  about  their  roving  adventures,  independ- 
ently of  the  powerful  curiosity  naturally  felt  to  learn  how 
men  placed  in  circumstances  so  different  from  the  ordinary 
modes  and  usages  of  social  life  in  civilized  communities 
thought  and  acted.  They  afford  another  lesson.  All  forms 
of  privation  and  endurance  with  which  the  vicissitudes  of 
maritime  adventure  bring  us  acquainted,  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance when  compared  with  the  hardships  voluntarily  and 
heroically  sustained  by  the  Bucaniers  from  the  love  of  a  life 
of  boundless  license  and  rapacity  for  Spanish  gold.  Base 
as  were  their  governing  motives,  and  ruthless  as  was  their 
trade,  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  their  manly  hardihood 
and  unconquerable  perseverance. 

The  Bucaniers  had  not  long  regained  Tortuga,  when 
it  was  betrayed  by  certain  Frenchmen  of  their  number  into 
the  hands  of  the  French  governor  of  the  West  Indies,  who 
took  possession  of  the  island  for  the  crown  of  France,  and 
expelled  the  English  Bucaniers,  who  had  domineered  over 
their  associates.  From  that  time  the  English  pirates  began 
to  frequent  the  islands  which  were  now  reckoned  to  belong 
to  their  own  nation.  These  they  enriched  by  the  lavish  ex- 
penditure of  their  spoils.  In  1655  the  Bucaniers  lent 
powerful  aid  to  their  countrymen  in  the  conquest  of  Jamaica, 
which  thenceforth  became  their  principal  haunt  when  not 
cruising  upon  the  enemy.  There,  in  a  few  weeks  or  nights, 
they  disgorged  the  plunder  or  gains  of  months  and  years  in 
a  course  of  riotous  excess  and  the  most  dissolute  profligacy. 

In  a  few  years  after  the  capture  of  Jamaica,  the  French 
freebooters  had  increased  amazingly  on  the  western  shores 
of  Hispaniola.  The  first  remarkable  exploits  of  the  Buca- 
niers at  sea  were  chiefly  performed  by  these  Frenchmen. 
Ships  were  their  primary  want ;  but  from  small  Indian 
canoes,  in  which  they  at  first  embarked,  the  naval  power  of 
the  pirates  soon  rose  to  large  fleets.  Among  their  first  bril- 
liant exploits,  which  led  the  way  to  many  others,  was  the 
capture  of  a  richly-laden  galleon,  vice-admiral  of  the  yearly 
Spanish  fleet.  This  was  achieved  by  Pierre  Legrand,  a 
native  of  Dieppe,  who  by  one  bold  stroke  gained  fame  and 


ENTERPRISE    OF    PIERRE    LEGRAND.  175 

fortune.  With  a  boat  carrying  four  small  pieces,  which 
proved  of  no  use  to  him,  and  twenty  resolute  followers, 
Pierre  surprised  this  ship.  For  days  and  weeks  he  and  his 
comrades  had  lain  in  wait  for  a  prey,  burning  under  a  tropi- 
cal sun.  They  were  almost  exhausted  by  suffering  and 
disappointment,  when  the  galleon  was  descried  separated 
from  the  fleet.  The  manner  in  which  the  capture  WHS  made 
offers  a  fair  specimen  of  bucaniering'daring  and  strategy. 
The  boat  in  which  the  men  lay  concealed  had  been  seen  by 
the  galleon  all  day,  and  one  of  the  company  had  warned  the 
captain  of  his  suspicion  of  a  nest  of  pirates  lurking  in  the 
distant  speck.  The  Spaniard  haughtily  and  carelessly  re- 
plied, "  And  what  then  ?  shall  I  be  afraid  of  so  pitiful  a 
thing  1  no,  though  she  were  as  good  a  ship  as  my  own." 
He  probably  thought  no  more  of  the  circumstance  till,  seated 
at  cards  with  his  friends  in  the  same  evening,  he  saw  the 
Bucaniers  rush  into  his  cabin,  having  already  overpowered 
the  crew.  Nor  had  the  task  proved  difficult. 

Pierre  and  his  company  had  kept  aloof  till  dusk,  when 
they  made  for  the  galleon  with  all  the  force  of  oars.  The 
game  was  for  death, — ignominious  and  cruel  death, — 
slavery  in  the  mines, — or  victory  and  fortune :  they  must 
make  good  their  attempt  to  board  the  galleon  or  perish. 
To  render  their  courage  desperate,  Pierre  ordered  the  sur- 
geon to  bore  holes  in  the  side  of  the  boat,  that  no  other  foot- 
ing might  be  left  to  his  men  than  the  decks  of  the  Spaniard. 
This  was  directly  performed,  while  each  man,  armed  with 
a  sword  and  pistols,  silently  climbed  the  sides  of  the  ship. 
While  one  party  rushed  into  the  great  cabin,  and  presented 
their  pistols  to  the  officers  who  sat  at  cards,  another  seized 
the  gunroom,  cutting  down  whoever  stood  in  their  way. 
As  the  Spaniards  had  been  completely  surprised,  little  op- 
position was  offered.  The  ship  surrendered,  and  was  car- 
ried into  France  by  Pierre,  who,  by  a  rare  instance  of  good 
sense  and  moderation,  from  the  time  of  obtaining  this  prize 
gave  up  the  vocation  of  a  Bucanier,  in  which,  if  fortunes 
were  sometimes  quickly  acquired,  they  were  as  often  rapidly 
lost,  or  certainly  squandered.  Legrand  appears  to  have  ex- 
ercised no  unnecessary  cruelty,  and  all  of  the  Spanish  sea- 
men not  required  in  navigating  the  vessel  were  sent  on 
shore. 

The  .enterprise  by  which  Pierre  Legrand  had  in  one  night 


176  PIERRE    FRANCOIS    AND    PORTUGUES. 

gained  fume  and  fortune  was  a  signal  for  half  the  hunters 
and  planters  of  Tortuga  to  rush  to  the  sea.  In  their  small 
canoes  they  cruised  about,  lying  in  wait  for  the  barks  in 
which  the  Spaniards  conveyed  to  Havana  and  other  ad- 
jacent ports  hides,  tobacco,  and  the  produce  of  the  boucan. 
These  cargoes  together  with  the  boats  were  sold  at  Tortuga, 
and  with  the  proceeds  the  freebooters  were  enabled  to  pro- 
cure and  equip  larger  vessels.  Campeachy  and  even  the 
shores  of  New  Spain  were  now  within  their  extended  range 
of  cruising,  and  their  expeditions  became  daily  more  distant 
and  bold.  The  Spaniards  now  found  it  necessary  to  arm 
ships  to  protect  the  coast-trade  as  well  as  the  galleons  and 
jlota.  The  Indian  fleet  and  the  treasure-ships  were  always 
the  especial  mark  of  the  pirates,  who  found  no  species  of 
goods  so  convenient  either  for  transport  or  division  as  pieces 
of  eight,  though  their  friends  and  correspondents  in  the 
islands  did  all  in  their  power  to  relieve  them  of  the  embar- 
rassment of  heavier  cargoes.  The  merchants  of  Jamaica 
and  Tortuga  might  at  this  time  have  not  unaptly  been 
termed  the  brokers  of  the  Bucaniera. 

Among  other  brilliant  acts,  Pierre  Francois,  another 
Frenchman,  with  a  handful  of  men  in  a  boat,  surprised  and 
captured  the  vice-admiral  of  the  Pearl  fleet ;  and  was  no 
sooner  possessed  of  this  ship  than  he  raised  his  ambitious  " 
thoughts  to  the  capture  of  the  ship  of  war  which  formed 
the  convoy.  In  this  bold  project  he  was  disappointed,  and 
his  prize  retaken ;  but  not  before  he  had  stipulated  for 
honourable  conditions  to  himself  and  his  company,  and  that 
they  should  be  safely  set  on  shore.  About  this  time  another 
noted  Bucanier,  Bartholomew  Portugues,  cruising  from 
Jamaica  with  a  boat  carrying  four  small  pieces  and  a  crew 
of  thirty  men,  captured  a  large  ship  of  twenty  great  guns 
with  a  crew  of  seventy  men.  This  prize  also  was  retaken 
in  a  few  days  by  three  Spanish  ships,  and  the  pirate  carried 
into  Campeachy  ;  whence,  however,  he  contrived  to  escape, 
burning  for  vengeance  upon  the  Spaniards  for  the  severity 
with  which  he  had  been  treated.  The  ingenuity  of  the  Por- 
tuguese in  evading  the  jail  and  the  gallows,  and  his  hair- 
breadth escapes  and  stratagems  to  extricate  himself  from 
the  consequences  of  his  crimes,  may  vie  with  those  of  any 
hero  in  the  Newgate  Calendar. 

The  Spanish  coasting- vessels,  taught  by  experience,  now 


SCOT MANSVELT— rLOLONNOIS.        177 

ventured  cautiously  to  sea,  and  the  number  of  Bucaniers  at 
the  same  time  increasing,  land-expeditions  were  first  under- 
taken, and  villages,  towns,  and  cities  pillaged,  sacked,  and 
held  to  ransom.  The  first  land-pirate  was  named  Lewis 
Scot,  who  stormed  and  plundered  Campeachy,  and  obtained 
a  large  sum  for  its  ransom.  Mansvelt,  and  John  Davies,  a 
renowned  Bucanier,  born  in  Jamaica,  next  followed  this 
new  career  with  success.  In  these  attempts  Mansvelt  con- 
ceived the  design  of  forming  an  independent  Bucanier 
establishment,  holding  neither  of  France,  England,  nor 
Holland,  which  should  form  a  place  of  safe  retreat  to  the 
freebooters  of  every  nation.  His  success  will  be  seen  in 
the  course  of  the  narrative. 

In  the  annals  of  the  sea-rovers  no  names  are  to  be  found 
more  terrible  than  those  of  Lolonnois  and  Montbar,  natives 
of  France,  and  distinguished  among  the  fraternity  by  pre- 
eminence in  crime.  The  former  was  rather  a  monster  in 
human  form  than  a  merely  cruel  man  ;  the  latter  appears  to 
have  had  a  taint  of  constitutional  madness,  which,  however, 
took  a  most  diabolical  character.  The  nom  de  guerre  of 
Lolonnois  was  borrowed  from  the  native  place  of  this  fiend, 
which  was  near  the  sands  of  Olone.  Little,  however,  is 
known  about  the  ancestry  of  the  pirate,  who  afterward  be- 
came so  celebrated  for  the  variety  and  vicissitudes  of  his 
life,  for  desperate  courage,  and  for  insatiable  cruelty.  He 
had  either  been  kidnapped  when  young,  or  had  left  France 
Under  a  form  of  engagement  then  in  common  use  in  several 
countries  of  Europe,  by  which  the  adventurer  agreed  to 
serve  for  a  certain  number  of  years  in  the  colonies.  This 
practice,  which  was  termed  indenting,  was  indeed  common 
till  a  very  recent  period,  and  was  liable  to  great  abuses. 
From  this  servitude  Lolonnois  escaped,  and  entered  with 
the  Bucaniers.  His  address  and  courage  soon  rendered 
him  conspicuous,  and  in  a  few  years  he  was  the  owner  of 
two  canoes,  and  commanded  twenty-two  freebooters.  With 
this  small  force  he  captured  a  Spanish  frigate  on  the  coast 
of  Cuba.  This  Bucanier  commander,  of  whom  almost  in- 
credible atrocities  are  related,  is  said  to  have  frequently 
thrown  overboard  the  crews  of  the  ships  which  he  took. 
He  is  said  to  have  struck  off  the  heads  of  eighty  prisoners 
with  his  own  hand,  refreshing  himself  by  sucking  the  blood 
of  the  victims  as  it  trickled  down  his  sabre.  It  is  even 


178  CRUELTIES    OF    LOLONNOIS. 

Delated,  that  in  transports  of  frantic  cruelty  he  has  been 
known  to  tear  out  and  devour  the  hearts  of  those  who  fell 
by  his  hand,  and  to  pluck  out  the  tongues  of  others.  To 
this  monster  cruelty  was  an  affair  of  calculation  as  well  as 
of  delight,  and  he  reckoned  the  terror  inspired  by  his  name 
among  the  best  means  of  success.  With  the  fruits  of  rapine 
Lolonnois  extended  his  range  of  depredation,  and  at  last 
joined  ferces  with  another  notorious  brother  of  the  order, 
Michael  de  Basco.  With  a  force  of  eight  ships  and  650 
men  they  stormed  and  plundered  the  towns  of  Gibraltar  and 
Maracaibo ;  the  former  place  being  burnt  on  ransom  not 
being  paid,  and  the  latter  pillaged  though  terms  of  safety 
had  been  agreed  upon.  We  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  atro- 
cities which  distinguish  this  expedition,  the  most  lucrative 
that  had  yet  been  undertaken,  as  many  ships  were  captured 
during  the  cruise,  besides  the  plunder  and  ransom  obtained 
in  the  towns.  In  this  affair  many  of  the  French  hunters 
had  joined ;  and  the  booty  divided  among  the  whole  band, 
at  the  island  to  which  they  retired  for  this  purpose,  amounted 
to  400,000  pieces  of  eight  in  money,  plate,  merchandise, 
household  furniture,  and  clothes, — for  nothing  escaped  the 
ravages  of  the  Bucaniers.  The  name  of  Frangois  Lolon- 
nois, already  so  formidable  on  the  Spanish  Main  and  the 
islands,  now  became  a  word  of  deeper  horror  to  the  mise- 
rable settlers,  who  lived  in  continual  dread  of  a  descent. 

After  the  plunder  had  been  obtained  and  divided,  the  next 
stage  of  a  regular  bucaniering  voyage  was  to  some  friendly 
island,  Tortuga  or  Jamaica,  where  a  market  might  be  ob- 
tained for  the  divided  spoils,  and  an  opportunity  given  for 
the  indulgence  of  the  unbridled  and  gross  licentiousness  in 
which  the  pirates  squandered  their  gains.  This  was  either 
in  gaming,  to  which  the  Bucaniers  were  strongly  addicted, 
in  the  most  brutal  debauchery,  or  in  those  freaks  of  profligate 
extravagance  which  more  or  less  characterize  all  uneducated 
seamen  after  long  voyages.  "  Some  of  them,"  says  their 
brother  and  historian,  Exquemelin,  "  will  spend  three  thou- 
sand pieces  of  eight  in  one  night,  not  leaving  themselves, 
peradventure,  a  shirt  to  wear  on  their  backs  in  the  morn- 
ing." He  tells  of  one  who  would  place  a  pipe  of  wine  in 
the  streets  of  Jamaica,  and,  offering  his  pistols  at  their 
breast,  force  all  who  passed  to  drink  with  him.  "  At  other 
times  he  would  do  the  same  with  barrels  of  ale  and  beer ; 


HIS    DEATH MONTBAR.  179 

and  very  often  with  both  his  hands  he  would  throw  these 
liquors  about  the  streets,  and  wet  the  clothes  of  such  as 
passed  by,  without  regarding  whether  he  spoiled  their  ap- 
parel or  not,  were  they  men  or  women."  Of  Roche  Brazii- 
iano,  a  pirate  somewhat  less  cruel  than  many  of  the  frater- 
nity, and  of  great  courage  and  capacity  in  the  affairs  of  his 
command,  the  chronicler  states,  "  howbeit  in  his  domestic 
and  private  affairs  he  had  no  good  behaviour  nor  govern- 
ment over  himself ;  for  in  these  he  would  oftentimes  show 
himself  either  brutish  or  foolish.  Many  times,  being  in 
drink,  he  would  run  up  and  down  the  streets,  beating  or 
wounding  whom  he  met, — no  person  daring  to  oppose  him 
or  make  any  resistance."  Such  was  the  Bucanier  in  his 
moments  of  relaxation  and  social  enjoyment,  and  such  the 
delights  which  in  a  few  weeks  left  the  companions  of 
Lolonnois  penniless,  and  eager  for  the  new  expedition  in 
which  that  detestable  monster  met  a  death  worthy  of  his 
enormous  crimes.  The  reputation  which  Lolonnois  had 
gained  by  his  last  expedition  made  many  new  adventurers 
eager  to  swell  his  armament.  Cruising  along  the  coast  of 
Cuba,  and  wherever  he  went  making  rapid  descents  on  In- 
dian villages  or  Spanish  settlements,  he  at  last  experienced 
reverses,  and  on  proposing  to  go  to  Guatimala  many  of  the 
leading  Bucaniers  left  him  upon  projects  of  their  own.  Fi- 
nally, after  a  train  of  disasters  Lolonnois  fell  into  the  hands 
of  certain  of  the  Indians  of  the  Darien,  a  fierce  and  cruel 
tribe,  who  were  not  unacquainted  with  the  atrocities  of  the 
Bucaniers.  By  them  he  was  torn  alive  limb  from  limb, — 
his  body  consumed,  and  the  ashes  scattered  abroad,  "  to  the 
intent,"  says  his  historian,  "that  no  trace  nor  memory 
might  remain  of  such  an  infamous  creature."  Many  of  his 
companions  shared  the  same  fate. 

The  character  of  Montbar,  the  other  French  Bucanier 
formerly  mentioned,  is  more  romantic,  if  not  more  hu- 
mane. He  appears  to  have  been  one  of  those  unhappy 
though  detestable  beings  who  are  created  with  a  raging 
thirst  for  blood,  and  with  whom  cruelty  is  a  passion 
and  an  appetite.  Montbar  was  a  gentleman  of  Langue- 
doc,  who.  from  reading  in  his  youth  of  the  horrible  cruelties 
practised  by  the  Spaniards  upon  the  Mexicans  and  Caribs, 
imbibed  a  hatred  of  the  whole  Spanish  nation,  which  pos- 
sessed him  like  a  phrensy.  It  is  however  somewhat  strange 


180  DESIGN    OF    MANSVELT. 

that  the  impulse  which  led  this  singular  person  to  join  the 
ranks  of  the  Bucaniers  urged  him  to  the  commission  of 
worse  cruelties  than  those  which  he  reprobated.  His  com- 
rades were  often  merciless  from  the  lust  of  gold ;  but 
Spanish  blood  was  the  sole  passion  of  Montbar.  It  is  re- 
lated by  Raynal,  that  while  at  college,  in  acting  the  part 
of  a  Frenchman  who  quarrels  with  a  Spaniard,  he  assaulted 
the  youth  who  personated  an  individual  of  that  hated  nation 
with  such  fury  that  he  had  wellnigh  strangled  him.  His 
imagination  was  perpetually  haunted  by  the  shapes  of  multi- 
tudes of  persons  butchered  by  monsters  from  Spain,  who 
called  upon  him  to  revenge  them.  While  on  his  passage 
outward  to  league  himself  with  the  brethren  of  the  coast, 
the  inveterate  enemies  of  Spain,  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed 
fell  in  with  a  Spanish  ship,  and  captured  it.  No  sooner  had 
the  Frenchmen  boarded  the  vessel,  than  Montbar,  with  his 
sabre  drawn,  twice  rushed  along  the  decks,  cutting  his  fran- 
tic way  through  the  ranks  of  Spaniards,  whom  he  swept 
down.  While  his  comrades  divided  the  booty  acquired  by 
his  prowess,  Montbar  gloated  over  the  mangled  limbs  of  the 
detested  people  against  whom  he  had  vowed  everlasting  and 
deadly  hate.  From  this  and  similar  actions  he  acquired  the 
name  of  the  Exterminator. 

The  Bucaniers  of  America  had  now  become  so  nume- 
rous and  powerful,  and  had  been  so  successful  in  their  dep- 
redations upon  the  richest  and  best-fortified  places,  both  on 
the  Main  and  the  Spanish  islands,  that  several  settlements 
were  compelled  to  submit  to  the  degradation  of  purchasing 
their  forbearance  by  paying  them  contributions,  equivalent 
in  principle  to  the  black-mail  formerly  levied  by  banditti  in 
Scotland.  This,  however,  merely  increased  their  gains, 
and  partially  changed  the  scene  of  havoc.  Their  preda- 
tory excursions  were  immediately  carried  farther  into  the 
interior,  and  stretched  more  extensively  along  the  coasts 
of  the  continent.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  popular 
Bucanier  commander  named  Mansvelt  formed  the  de- 
sign before  alluded  to,  of  establishing  a  Bucanier  inde- 
pendent empire, — a  project  which  was  afterward  enter- 
tained by  his  lieutenant,  the  famous  or  infamous  Morgan, 
and  reluctantly  abandoned  by  such  of  the  fraternity  as 
were  endowed  with  more  foresight  or  greater  ambition  than 
their  associates.  The  intended  seat  of  an  empire,  which 
might  easily  have  been  extended  on  all  sides,  was  the 


EXPEDITION   OF   MORGAN.  18 1 

island  of  Santa  Katalina,  now  known  by  the  name  of  Old 
Providence  Island.  For  this  point  Mansvelt  sailed  from 
Jamaica  in  1664,  stormed  the  fort,  and  garrisoned  the 
place  with  his  own  men ;  but  the  English  governor  of 
Jamaica,  who  thought  the  Bucaniers  more  profitable  as 
customers  than  desirable  as  independent  allies,  looked 
coldly  upon  the  project  of  a  settlement  so  far  beyond  his 
control.  He  forbade  recruiting  in  Jamaica  in  furtherance 
of  this  project,  and  Mansvelt  died  suddenly  before  it  could 
otherwise  be  effected.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  most 
renowned  of  the  English  Bucaniers,  Captain  Sir  Henry 
Morgan.  The  new  Bucanier  generalissimo,  though 
equally  brave  and  daring  with  his  predecessor,  was  of  a 
more  sordid  and  brutal  character,  selfish  and  cunning,  and 
without  any  spark  of  the  reckless  generosity  which  some- 
times graced  the  freebooter  and  contrasted  with  his  crimes. 
He  was  a  native  of  Wales,  and  the  son  of  a  respectable 
yeoman.  Early  inclination  led  him  to  the  sea ;  and  em- 
barking for  Barbadoes,  by  a  fate  common  to  all  unpro- 
tected adventurers,  he  was  sold  for  a  term  of  years.  After 
effecting  his  escape,  or  emancipation,  Morgan  joined  the 
Bucaniers,  and  in  a  short  time  saved  a  little  money,  with 
which,  in  concert  with  a  few  comrades,  he  equipped  a  bark, 
of  which  he  was  chosen  commander.  The  adventurers 
made  a  fortunate  cruise  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy ;  after 
which  Morgan  joined  Mansvelt  in  the  assault  of  Santa 
Katalina  or  Providence,  and  by  a  lucky  stroke,  at  the  death 
of  Mansvelt,  succeeded,  as  has  been  noticed,  to  the  chief 
command.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Morgan  to  retain 
Old  Providence,  as  the  Governor  of  Jamaica  still  refused  to 
allow  recruits  to  go  from  that  island,  and  the  merchants  of 
Virginia  and  New-England  declined  sending  him  supplies, 
it  fell  once  more  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  the 
Bucaniers  were  driven  to  seek  a  new  place  of  refuge. 
The  Cayos,  or  islets  near  the  south  coast  of  Cuba,  had  for 
some  time  been  their  haunting-place.  At  these  Keys,  as 
they  were  corruptly  termed  by  the  English,  they  mustered 
from  all  quarters  as  often  as  a  joint  expedition  was  con* 
templated  ;  and  here  they  watered,  refitted,  held  their  coun- 
cils in  safety,  and  waited  till  their  fleet  had  been  victualled 
either  by  pillage  or  purchase. 

To  the  Keys  on  the  south  of  Cuba,  the  rendezvous  ap« 


182         PILLAGE    OF    PUERTO    DEL    PRINCIPE. 

pointed  by  Morgan,  about  twelve  sail  in  ships  and  boats 
had  now  repaired,  with  above  seven  hundred  fighting  men, 
French  and  English.  The  disposal  of  this  armament  and 
force  was  the  cause  of  difference  of  opinion,  some  wishing 
to  attack  Havana,  while  others,  deeming  this  enterprise 
too  formidable  for  their  numbers,  declared  for  Puerto  del 
Principe  in  Cuba,  which  was  accordingly  taken  and  plun- 
dered, after  a  desperate  assault  and  brave  resistance. 
The  Bucaniers,  as  soon  as  they  became  masters,  shut  up 
the  principal  inhabitants  in  the  churches,  as  the  easiest  way 
of  disposing  of  them  while  they  pillaged  the  city.  Many 
of  these  unfortunate  persons  died  of  hunger ;  others  were 
put  to  the  torture  to  compel  them  to  discover  concealed 
treasures,  which  probably  had  no  existence  save  in  the 
rapacious  desires  and  extravagant  fancies  of  the  brutal  and 
ignorant  Bucaniers.  The  booty  obtained,  or  wrung  forth 
from  the  inhabitants,  was,  however,  considerable.  Five 
hundred  bullocks  formed  part  of  the  ransom,  which  the  in- 
solent freebooters  compelled  the  Spaniards  to  kill  and  salt 
for  them-  A  characteristic  quarrel  between  a  French  and 
English  Bucanier,  which  took  place  at  this  time,  crippled 
the  strength  of  Morgan,  from  whom,  in  consequence  of  this 
difference,  many  of  his  Gallican  followers  withdrew.  The 
occasion  of  this  national  quarrel  was  an  English  Bucanier 
snatching  the  marrow-bones  which  the  Frenchman  had 
carefully  prepared  for  his  own  repast.  A  challenge  was 
the  consequence  ;  and  the  Frenchman  was  unfairly  or' 
treacherously  stabbed  by  his  opponent.  His  countrymen 
embraced  his  cause,  and  Morgan  put  the  murderer  in 
chains,  and  afterward  had  him  hung  in  Jamaica  for  this 
breach  of  the  laws  of  honour  and  of  brotherhood. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  pillage  of  Puerto  del  Principe 
being  divided,  the  French  Bucaniers,  indignant  at  the 
murder  of  their  countryman,  left  Morgan  in  spite  of  his 
entreaties,  and  the  English  were  obliged  to  pursue  their 
fortunes  alone. 

The  enterprises  of  Morgan,  who  was  at  once  ambitious 
and  greedy,  display  capacity,  coolness,  and  daring.  His 
next  attempt  combined  all  these  qualities  in  a  remarkable 
degree.  With  nine  ships  and  boats,  and  four  hundred  and 
*ixty  of  his  countrymen,  he  resolved  to  assault  Porter 
Bella ;  but  did  not  venture  to  disclose  so  bold  a  design 


ASSAULT   ON   PORTO   BELLO.  183 

till  it  was  no  longer  advisable  to  conceal  it.     To  those  who 
then  objected  that  their  force  was  inadequate  to  the  attack, 
Morgan  boldly  replied,  "  That  though  their  numbers  were 
small,  their  hearts  were  good  ;  and  the  fewer  the  warriors 
the  larger  the  shares  of  plunder.*'     This  last  was  an  irre- 
sistible argument ;  and  this  strongly- fortified  city  was  car- 
ried by  a  handful  of  resolute  men,  who  never  scrupled  at 
cruelty  needful  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  object,  and 
often  revelled  in  the  wantonness   of  unnecessary  crime. 
The  first  fort  or  castle  was  deliberately  blown  up  by  fire 
being  set  to  the  powder-magazine,  after  many  miserable 
prisoners,   whose  mangled  limbs  soon  darkened  the  air, 
had  been  huddled  into  one  room.     Resistance  was  still 
attempted  by  the  Spaniards,  which  greatly  exasperated  the 
besiegers,  as  it  was  into  the  forts  which  held  out  that  the 
wealthy  inhabitants  had  retired   with  their  treasure  and 
valuables.     One  strong  fort  it  was  necessary  to  carry  with- 
out delay ;  and  broad  scaling-ladders  being   constructed, 
Morgan  compelled  his  prisoners  to  fix  them  to  the  walls. 
Many  of  those   employed  in  this  office  were  priests   and 
nuns,  dragged  for  this  purpose  from  the  cloisters.     These, 
it  was  thought,  their  countrymen  would  spare  ;  while  under 
their    protection   the   Bucaniers   might   advance   without 
being  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  castle.     In  these  trying 
circumstances,  forgetting  the  claims  of  country,  and  the 
sacred  character  of  the  innocent  persons  exposed  to  suffer- 
ing so  unmerited,  the  Spanish  governor  consulted  only  his 
official  duty ;  and  while  the  unhappy  prisoners  of  the  Buc- 
aniers implored  his  mercy,  continued  to  pour  shot  upon 
all  who  approached  the  walls,  whether  pirates  or  the  late 
peaceful  inhabitants  of  the  cloisters,  his  stern  answer  being 
that  he  would  never  surrender  alive.     Many  of  the  friars 
and  nuns  were  killed  before  the  scaling-ladders  could  be 
fixed  ;  but  that  done,  the  Bucaniers,  carrying  with  them 
fireballs  and  pots  full  of  gunpowder,  boldly  mounted  the 
walls,  poured  in  their  combustibles,  and  speedily  effected 
an  entrance.     All  the  Spaniards  demanded  quarter  except 
the  governor,  who  died  fighting,  in  presence  of  his  wife 
and  daughter,  declaring  that  he  chose  rather  to  die  as  a 
brave  soldier  than  be  hanged  like  a  coward.     The  next  act 
in   the   horrid  drama  of    bucaniering   conquest   followed 
rapidly, — pillage,  cruelty,  brutal   license, — the  freebooter* 


184        SPECIMEN  OF  MORGAN'S  WEAPONS. 

giving  themselves  up  to  so  mad  a  course  of  riot  and  de- 
bauchery that  fifty  resolute  men  might  have  cut  them  off 
and  regained  the  town,  had  the  panicstruck  Spaniards 
been  able  to  form  any  rational  plan  of  action,  or  to  muster 
a  force.  During  these  fifteen  days  of  demoniac  revel, 
interrupted  only  by  torturing  the  prisoners  to  make  them 
give  up  treasures  which  they  did  not  possess,  many  of  the 
Bucaniers  died  from  the  consequences  of  their  own  brutal 
excesses,  and  Morgan  deemed  it  expedient  to  draw  off  his 
force.  Information  had  by  this  time  reached  the  Governor 
of  Panama ;  and  though  aid  was  distant  from  the  jnise- 
rable  inhabitants  of  Porto  Bello,  it  might  still  come.  Mor- 
gan, therefore,  carried  off  a  good  many  of  the  guns,  spiked 
the  rest,  fully  supplied  his  ships  with  every  necessary  store, 
and  having  already  plundered  all  that  was  possible,  inso- 
lently demanded  an  exorbitant  ransom  for  the  preservation 
of  the  city  and  for  his  prisoners,  and  prepared  to  depart 
from  the  coast.  These  terms  he  even  sent  to  the  Governor 
of  Panama,  \vho  was  approaching  the  place,  and  whose 
force  the  Bucaniers  intercepted  in  a  narrow  pass,  and 
compelled  to  retreat.  The  inhabitants  collected  among 
themselves  a  hundred  thousand  pieces  of  eight,  which 
Morgan  graciously  accepted,  and  retired  to  his  ships. 

The  astonishment  of  the  Governor  of  Panama  at  so 
small  a  force  carrying  the  town  and  the  forts,  and  holding 
them  so  long,  induced  him,  it  is  said,  to  send  a  message  to 
the  Bucanier  leader,  requesting  a  specimen  of  the  arms 
which  he  used.  Morgan  received  the  messenger  with 
civility,  gave  him  a  pistol  and  a  few  bullets,  and  ordered 
him  to  bid  the  president  to  accept  of  so  slender  a  pattern 
of  the  weapons  with  which  he  had  taken  Porto  Bello,  and 
to  keep  it  for  a  twelvemonth,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
(Morgan)  proposed  to  come  to  Panama  to  fetch  it  away. 
The  governor  returned  the  loan  with  a  gold  ring,  and  re- 
quested Morgan  not  to  give  himself  the  trouble  of  travelling 
so  far,  certifying  to  him  that  he  would  not  fare  so  well  as 
he  had  done  at  Porto  Bello. 

On  this  subject  Morgan  formed  and  afterward  acted 
upon  his  own  opinions.  In  the  mean  while  the  spoils  were 
divided  at  the  Keys  of  Cuba.  The  booty  amounted  to 
250,000  pieces  of  eight,  besides  goods  of  all  kinds,  includ- 
ing silks,  linen,  cloth,  and  many  things  that  found  a  ready 


NEW    BUCANIER    EXPEDITION.  185 

market  in  Jamaica,  for  which  Bucaniers'  paradise  the 
fleet  next  sailed,  to  lit  themselves  for  a  fresh  expedition  by 
a  month's  carousing,  and  the  prodigal  expenditure  of  the 
fruits  of  their  toils  and  crimes. 

This  brilliant  exploit,  in  which  so  few  men,  and  those 
armed  only  with  pistols  and  sabres,  had  taken  a  large  for- 
tified city,  raised  the  character  of  Morgan  as  a  commander 
higher  than  ever ;  and  his  invitation  to  the  Brethren  of  the 
Coast  to  meet  him  at  the  Isla  de  la  Vaca,  or  Cow  Island, 
which  was  appointed  as  a  rendezvous  preparatory  to 
another  cruise,  was  so  eagerly  accepted  that  he  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force.  A  large  French 
bucaniering  vessel,  which  refused  to  join  this  expedition, 
he  obtained  by  fraud.  Inviting  the  commander  and  several 
of  the  best  men  to  dine  with  him,  under  some  frivolous 
pretext  he  made  them  prisoners.  But  Morgan  did  not 
reap  much  advantage  from  this  act  of  treachery.  While 
the  men  whom  he  had  placed  in  the  ship  were  carousing, 
celebrating  the  commencement  of  another  cruise,  it  sud- 
denly blew  up,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  Englishmen 
and  the  French  prisoners  perished  together.  This  acci- 
dent, so  disastrous  to  Morgan,  was  imputed  to  the  revenge- 
ful spirit  of  the  Frenchmen  confined  in  the  hold.  The  true 
character  of  the  sordid  Bucanier  was  never  more  strongly 
displayed  than  in  the  way  which  Morgan  tried  to  make 
the  best  for  himself  of  this  mischance.  When  eight  days 
of  mourning  had  elapsed,  he  made  the  dead  bodies  be  fished 
up,  stripped  of  clothes,  linen,  and  of  the  gold  rings  which 
Bucaniers  often  wore,  and  then  be  thrown  back  into  the 
sea  to  feed  the  sharks. 

Morgan  had  now  a  fleet  of  fifteen  ships,  some  of  which 
he  owed  to  the  kindness  of  the  Governor  of  Jamaica,  who 
connived  at,  or  took  a  share  in,  such  adventures.  His 
force  consisted  of  1000  fighting-men.  Several  of  his  ves- 
sels were  armed,  and  his  own  carried  fourteen  guns.  With 
these,  which,  however,  through  discontent,  diminished  a 
full  half  on  the  way,  he  shaped  his  course  for  the  devoted 
cities  of  Gibraltar  and  Maracaibo,  formerly  visited  by 
Lolonnois,  which  were  once  more  taken  and  plundered. 
At  the  former  place  the  cruelties  of  Morgan  exceeded,  if 
that  were  possible,  the  enormities  of  the  French  pirate. 
Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  fled  to  the  woods  and  were 
Q2 


186  GIBRALTAR MARACAIBO. 

retaken  were  tortured  with  fiendlike  ingenuity  to  make 
them  discover  their  wealth.  It  would  be  painful  and  re- 
volting to  dwell  upon  the  black  record  of  the  atrocities  per- 
petrated here. 

So  much  time  had  been  consumed  at  Gibraltar,  that  Mor- 
gan, when  about  to  withdraw,  found  himself  in  a  snare, 
from  which  it  required  all  his  talent  and  presence  of  mind 
to  extricate  the  Bucanier  fleet.  Coolness  and  readiness 
were,  however,  the  familiar  qualities  of  men  whose  lives 
were  a  series  of  perils  and  escapes,  and  whose  natural  ele- 
ment was  danger  ;  and  they  never  were  more  admirably 
displayed  than  by  Morgan  and  his  men  at  this  time. 

In  the  interval  spent  by  the  Bucaniers  in  pillage  and 
debauchery  at  Gibraltar,  the  Spaniards  had  repaired  the  fort 
which  protected  the  passage  of  the  lake  or  lagune  of 
Maracaibo,  and  stationed  three  men  of  war  at  the  entrance, 
whose  vigilance  it  was  conceived  impossible  the  pirates 
could  escape.  These  vessels  carried,  one  twenty,  another 
thirty,  and  the  third  forty  guns.  Putting  a  bold  face  upon 
his  embarrassing  situation,  Morgan,  with  the  audacity 
natural  to  him,  and  which  was  one  of  his  instruments  of 
success,  sent  a  message  to  the  Spanish  admiral,  demanding 
a  ransom  as  the  only  condition  on  which  the  city  could  be 
preserved.  To  this  insolent  vaunt  the  Spaniard  replied, 
that  though  the  Bucanier  commander  had  taken  the  castle 
from  a  set  of  cowards,  it  was  now  in  a  good  state  of  de- 
fence ;  and  that  he  not  only  intended  to  dispute  the  egress 
from  the  lagune,  but  to  pursue  the  pirates  everywhere.  If, 
however,  they  chose  to  give  up  the  prisoners  and  the  slaves 
they  had  taken,  they  would  be  permitted  to  pass  forth  un- 
molested. This  reply  was  as  usual  submitted  to  a  full  coun- 
cil of  Bucaniers,  and  at  this  assembly  one  of  their  num- 
ber suggested  the  stratagem  by  which  Morgan  in  the  first 
place  destroyed  the  Spanish  men  of  war.  One  of  the 
Bucanier  vessels  was  prepared  as  a  fireship,  and  at  the 
same  time  was  made  to  wear  the  appearance  of  a  vessel 
ready  for  action.  Logs  were  placed  in  rows  on  the  decks, 
on  which  clothes,  hats,  and  Montero  caps  were  placed  ;  and 
these  decoy-figures  were  also  armed  with  swords  and  mus- 
kets. When  this  was  done,  the  plate,  jewels,  female  pris- 
oners, and  whatever  was  of  most  value  to  the  Bucaniers, 
Were  placed  in  their  large  boats,  each  of  which  carried 


STRATAGEMS  OF  MORGAN.  187 

twelve  armed  men.  These  boats  were  to  follow  the  fire- 
ship,  which  led  the  van  ;  an  oath  was  exacted  from  each 
Bucanier  of  resistance  to  the  last,  and  the  refusal  of 
quarter  from  the  Spaniards  ;  and  ample  rewards  were 
promised  for  valour  and  firmness.  Next  evening  the  fleet 
sailed,  and  about  dusk  came  up  with  the  Spanish  ships 
riding  at  anchor  in  the  middle  of  the  lagune.  The  Buc- 
anier vessels  also  anchored,  resolved  to  await  here  the 
effect  of  their  stratagem,  and  either  to  fight,  escape,  or 
perish.  No  attack  was  offered  that  night,  and  they  lay  in 
quiet  till  dawn,  when  the  anchors  were  weighed,  and  they 
steered  directly  towards  the  Spanish  ships,  which  advanced 
as  if  to  meet  them.  The  fireship,  still  in  advance,  with  all 
her  decoys  of  armed  men  as  before,  came  up  with  the 
largest  of  the  Spanish  vessels  and  grappled  to  her, — then 
the  deception  was  first  discovered,  but  too  late  for  escape. 
The  conflagration  commenced.  The  Spanish  ship  caught 
fire  in  tackling  and  timbers,  and  the  forepart  of  her  hull 
soon  went  down.  The  second  Spanish  vessel  escaped 
under  the  guns  of  the  castle,  and  was  sunk  by  her  own 
company  as  a  fate  preferable  to  falling  a  prey  to  the  Buca- 
niers.  The  third  vessel  was  taken.  The  crew  of  the 
burning  ship  endeavoured  to  escape  to  the  shore,  and  all 
chose  rather  to  perish  in  the  sea  than  accept  of  the  quarter 
offered  by  the  pirates.  The  triumphant  Bucaniers,  with- 
out losing  a  moment,  gave  chase,  and  immediately  landed, 
resolving  forthwith  to  attempt  the  castle  ;  but  as  they  were 
ill  armed  for  such  an  assault,  and  the  place  was  well  fortified 
and  manned,  they  desisted  from  the  attempt,  and  returned 
to  their  ships,  having  lost  in  that  day's  work  thirty  men 
killed  and  many  more  wounded. 

Though  the  Spanish  ships  were  destroyed,  the  castle 
st  ill  remained  to  be  passed  ;  and  the  Spaniards  had  laboured 
all  night  in  completing  its  defences.  Morgan  again  had 
recourse  to  stratagem.  All  day  long,  in  sight  of  the  garri- 
son, he  affected  to  be  sending  boats  filled  with  men  to  a 
point  of  the  shore  concealed  from  view  of  the  castle  by 
trees.  These  men  returned  on  board  lying  flat  in  the  boats, 
where,  in  going  back,  only  the  rowers  were  visible.  They 
mounted  their  ships  at  a  side  on  which  the  Spaniards  coulcl 
not  perceive  their  return.  This  manoeuvre  was  repeated, 
till  the  Spaniards  believed  that  from  the  number  of  men 


188  NEW  BUCANIER  EXPEDITION. 

landed  an  attack  upon  the  castle  was  meditated.  This 
seemed  the  more  probable,  as  Morgan,  who  had  now  hoisted 
his  flag  in  their  captured  war-ship,  again  sent  a  message 
demanding  a  ransom  for  Maracaibo  as  the  condition  of  his 
departure.  To  meet  the  presumed  movement  of  the  Buc- 
aniers,  the  guns  of  the  castle  were  changed  from  a  posi- 
tion which  commanded  the  lagune,  and  pointed  to  landward. 
As  soon  as  he  was  aware  of  this  arrangement,  Morgan 
raised  his  anchors  by  moonlight,  and  favoured  by.  the  ebb 
tide,  the  wind  also  being  favourable,  pressed  past  the 
castle ;  the  mortified  Spaniards  trying  in  vain  to  hasten 
back  with  their  pieces  to  bear  upon  him.  He  gave  them  a 
parting  volley  from  his  great  guns,  so  lately  their  own  ; 
and  bore  away  for  Jamaica,  exulting  in  good  fortune, 
enhanced  likewise  by  what  he  learned  of  the  misadventures 
of  those  who  had  forsaken  him  in  the  early  part  of  the 
cruise. 

Money  and  credit  were,  as  usual,  quickly  outrun  in  the 
taverns  of  Port  Royal  by  the  dissolute  companions  of  Mor- 
gan ;  and  another  expedition  was  concerted,  which  was  to 
exceed  all  the  former  achievements  of  the  sea-rovers.  And 
no  time  was  to  be  lost,  as  a  pending  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  threatened  for  ever  to  put  an  end  to  what 
their  admiring  countrymen  termed  the  "  unparalleled  ex- 
ploits of  the  Bucaniers."  Letters  were  despatched  by 
the  commander  to  every  noted  Buconicr,  and  the  south 
side  of  the  island  of  Tortuga  was  named  as  the  rendezvous. 
Early  in  October,  1670,  Morgan  found  himself  surrounded 
by  pirates,  hunters,  cultivators,  English,  French,  and 
Dutch,  who,  from  land  and  sea,  the  plantation  and  the  wil- 
derness, had  flocked  to  the  standard  of  him  who  was  to 
lead  them  to  fortune  and  victory.  The  first  duty  was  to 
victual  the  fleet,  and  this  was  done  by  pillaging  the  hog- 
yards,  and  with  the  boucan  sent  in  by  hunters  who  either 
joined  in  the  expedition  or  traded  with  the  pirates.  The 
Bucanier  fleet,  consisting  of  thirty-seven  vessels  fully 
provisioned,  next  sailed  for  Cape  Tiburon,  on  the  west 
coast  of  Hispaniola, — the  fighting-men  amounting  to  2000. 
At  the  general  council  now  held,  three  places  of  attack  were 
deliberated  upon, — Vera  Cruz,  Carthagena,  and  Panama. 
The  last  and  most  difficult  was  that  which  was  chosen, 
recommended  by  the  extravagant  notions  entertained  in 


STORMING  OF  THE  CASTLE  OF  CHAGRE.       189 

Europe  and  the  West  Indies  of  its  amazing  wealth,  and  of 
the  great  riches  of  Peru. 

Morgan  had  never  renounced  the  idea,  which  originated 
with  Mansvelt,  of  a  Bucanier  settlement  on  the  conve- 
niently-situated island  of  Providence.  Once  more  it  was 
captured  on  his  way,  the  Spanish  governor  making  a  farce 
of  resistance.  From  this  point  Morgan  detached  a  force  of 
400  men  to  attack  the  castle  of  Chagre,  the  possession  of 
which  he  judged  necessary  to  the  success  of  his  future  opera- 
tions against  Panama.  It  was  eventually  carried  by  the 
accident  of  fire  communicating  with  the  powder-magazine, 
which  blew  up  part  of  the  defences.* 

While  the  Spaniards  were  occupied  in  suppressing  the 
conflagration,  the  Bucaniers  laboured  hard  to  increase  the 
confusion,  by  setting  fire  to  the  palisadoes  in  several  places. 
At  last  they  effected  a  breach,  in  defiance  of  the  liquid  com- 
bustibles which  the  Spaniards  poured  down  among  them, 
and  which  occasioned  considerable  loss  of  their  numbers. 
But  the  attack  and  resistance  were  still  continued  through- 
out the  whole  night,  the  Bucaniers  directing  an  incessant 
fire  towards  the  breaches,  which  the  Spanish  governor  per- 
tinaciously defended. 

By  noon  the  next  day  the  Bucaniers  had  gained  a  breach, 
which  was  defended  by  the  governor  himself  and  twenty- 
five  soldiers.  The  Spanish  soldiers  fought  with  desperate 
valour,  despair  lending  them  supernatural  courage ;  but 
nothing  could  resist  the  impetuosity  of  the  pirates ;  they 
burst  their  way  through  every  obstacle,  and  the  unfortunate 
Spaniards  who  survived,  preferring  death  to  the  dishonour 
of  either  falling  into  the  hands  of  these  infuriated  ruffians 
or  of  begging  quarter,  precipitated  themselves  into  the  sea. 
The  governor  had  retired  into  the  corps  du  garde,  before 
which  he  planted  two  pieces  of  cannon,  and  bravely  main- 
tained the  hopeless  and  unequal  conflict  till  he  fell  by  a 

*  The  manner  in  which  the  fire  was  imagined  to  be  communicated  is 
not  a  little  singular.  A  Bucanier  was  pierced  through  by  an  arrow 
from  the  fort.  He  drew  it  forth  from  his  body,  wound  a  little  cotton 
round  it,  and  shot  it  from  his  musket  against  the  castle.  The  cotton  kin- 
dled by  the  powder  set  fire  to  the  palm-leaf  roofs  of  some  sheds  within 
the  castle,  and  the  flame  caught  at  the  gunpowder,  which  produced  the 
breach  in  the  walls.  At  the  same  instant  the  Bucaniers  set  fire  to  the 
palisadoes :  the  Spaniards,  though  unwavering  in  courage  and  undaunted 
in  resolution,  became  distracted  in  the  midst  of  so  many  dangers, 


190  MARCH  TO  PANAMA. 

musket-shot,  which  entered  the  hrain.  Of  the  garrison  of 
314  rnen  only  thirty  remained  alive,  and  of  these  few  twenty 
•were  wounded.  Not  a  single  officer  esci./ed. 

From  the  survivors  of  the  siege  the  Bucanier  party 
learned  that  the  Governor  of  Panama  was  already  apprized 
of  their  design  against  that  place,  that  all  along  the  course 
of  the  Chagre  ambuscades  were  laid,  and  that  a  force  of 
3600  men  awaited  their  arrival.  But  this  did  not  deter 
Morgan,  who  pressed  forward  for  Chagre  the. instant  that 
he  received  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  the  castle,  carry- 
ing with  him  all  the  provisions  that  could  be  obtained  in 
Santa  Katalina,  to  which  island  he  intended  to  return  after 
the  capture  of  Panama. 

The  English  colours  flying  upon  the  castle  of  Chagre 
was  a  sight  of  joy  to  the  main  body  of  the  Bucaniers  upon 
their  arrival.  Morgan  was  admitted  within  the  fort  by  the 
triumphant  advanced  troop  with  all  the  honours  of  conquest. 
Before  his  arrival,  the  wounded,  the  widows  of  the  soldiers 
killed  in  the  siege,  and  the  other  women  of  the  place,  had 
been  shut  up  in  the  church,  and  subjected  to  the  most 
brutal  treatment.  To  their  fate  Morgan  was  entirely  cal- 
lous ;  but  he  lost  no  time  in  setting  the  prisoners  to  work 
in  repairing  the  defences  and  forming  new  palisadoes  ;  he 
also  seized  all  the  craft  in  the  river,  many  of  which  carried 
from  two  to  four  small  pieces. 

These  arrangements  concluded,  Morgan  left  a  garrison 
of  500  men  in  his  castle  of  Chagre,  and  in  the  ships  1 50  ; 
while  at  the  head  of  1200  Bucaniers,  he,  on  the  18th  Janu- 
ary, 1671,  commenced  his  inland  voyage  to  Panama,  in- 
different about  or  determined  to  brave  the  Spanish  ambus- 
cades. His  artillery  was  carried  by  five  large  boats,  and 
thirty-two  canoes  were  filled  with  part  of  the  men.  Anxious 
to  push  forward,  Morgan  committed  one  capital  blunder  in 
carrying  almost  no  provisions,  calculating  upon  a  shorter 
period  being  consumed  on  the  march  than  it  actually  re- 
quired, and  on  foraging  upon  the  Spaniards.  Even  on  the 
first  day  their  provisions  failed,  and  on  the  second  they  were 
compelled  to  leave  the  canoes,  the  lowness  of  the  river  and 
the  fallen  trees  lying^  across  it  making  this  mode  of  travel- 
ling tedious  and  nearly  impracticable.  Their  progress  was 
now  continued  by  land  and  water  alternately,  and  was 
attended  with  great  inconvenience,  the  extremity  of  famine 
being  of  the  number  of  their  hardships.  Their  best  hopes 


HARDSHIPS    OF   THE   JOURNEY. 

were  now  placed  in  falling  in  with  the  threatened  ambus- 
cades, as  there  they  might  find  a  store  of  provisions.  So 
extremely  were  they  pinched  with  hunger,  that  the  leathern 
bags  found  at  a  deserted  Spanish  station  formed  a  delicious 
meal.  About  this  delicacy  they  even  quarrelled,  and  it  is 
said  openly  regretted  that  no  Spaniards  were  found,  as, 
failing  provisions,  they  had  resolved  to  have  roasted  or 
boiled  a  few  of  the  enemy  to  satisfy  their  ravening  ap- 
petites. 

Throughout  the  whole  track  to  Panama  the  Spaniards 
had  taken  care  riot  to  leave  the  smallest  quantity  of  pro- 
visions, and  any  other  soldiers  than  the  Bucaniers  must 
have  perished  long  before  even  a  distant  view  was  obtained1 
of  the  city  ;  but  their  powers  of  endurance,  from  their 
hard}7  modes  of  life,  were  become  almost  superhuman.  At 
nightfall,  when  they  reached  their  halting-place,  "happy 
was  he  who  had  reserved  since  morn  any  small  piece  of 
leather  whereof  to  make  his  supper,  drinking  after  it  a 
good  draught  of  water  for  his  greatest  comfort."  Their 
mode  of  preparing  this  tough  meal  deserves  to  be  noticed. 
The  skins  were  first  sliced,  then  alternately  dipped  in  water 
and  beat  between  two  stones  to  ren4er  them  tender  ; — 
lastly,  the  remaining  hair  was  scraped  ofT,  and  the  morsel 
broiled,  cut  into  small  bits,  and  deliberately  chewed,  with 
frequent  mouthfuls  of  water  to  eke  out  and  lengthen  the 
repast. 

On  the  fifth  day,  at  another  deserted  ambuscade,  a  little 
maize  was  found,  and  also  some  wheat,  wine,  and  plantains. 
This,  scanty  as  it  was,  proved  a  seasonable  supply  to  those 
who  drooped,  and  it  was  thriftily  dealt  out  among  them. 
Next  day  a  barn  full  of  maize  was  discovered,  which,  beat- 
ing down  the  door,  the  famished  Bucaniers  rushed  upon 
and  devoured  without  any  preparation.  Yet  all  this  hard- 
ship could  not  turn  them  aside  from  the  scent  of  prey, 
though  symptoms  of  discontent  became  visible  in  their 
ranks.  At  a  village  called  Cruz,  perceiving  from  a  distance 
a  great  smoke,  they  joyfully  promised  themselves  rest  and 
refreshments  ;  but  on  reaching  it  found  no  inhabitant,  and 
every  house  either  burnt  down  or  in  flames,  so  determined 
were  the  Spaniards  to  oppose  the  onward  march  of  the 
terrible  beings,  presented  to  their  imaginations  under  every 
shape  of  horror.  The  only  animals  remaining,  the  dogs 


192  THE    SOUTH   SEA   DESCRIED. 

and  cats  of  the  village,  fell  an  immediate  sacrifice  to  the 
wolfish  hunger  of  the  Bucaniers. 

Morgan  had  now  some  difficulty  in  preserving  discipline, 
and  in  keeping  his  companions  or  followers  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  or  Indians  when  straggling 
about  in  search  of  any  thing  they  could  devour.  In  this 
way  one  man  was  lost. 

They  were  now  within  eight  leagues  of  Panama,  and 
the  nearer  they  approached,  the  more  anxious  and  vigilant 
was  Morgan  in  looking  out  for  the  threatened  ambuscades 
of  the  enemy,  who,  he  naturally  conjectured,  might  have  re- 
tired to  consolidate  his  forces.  On  the  eighth  day,  they  were 
surprised  by  a  shower  of  Indian  arrows  poured  upon  them 
from  some  unseen  quarter,  and  advancing  into  the  woods, 
maintained  a  sharp  short  contest  with  a  party  of  Indians, 
many  of  whom  fell,  ofFering  a  brave  though  vain  resistance. 
Ten  of  the  freebooters  were  killed  in  this  skirmish.  The 
Bucaniers,  who  had  already  three  Indian  guides,  run- 
aways found  in  Santa  Katalina,  endeavoured  at  this  place 
to  make  some  prisoners  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  intel- 
ligence; but  the  Indians  were  too  swift  of  foot. 

After  another  twenty-four  hours  of  suffering,  under  which 
only  freebooters  or  Indians  could  have  borne  up,  on  the 
morning  of  the  ninth  day  of  the  march,  from  a  high  moun- 
tain, the  majestic  South  Sea  was  joyfully  descried,  with 
ships  and  boats  sailing  upon  its  bosom,  and  peacefully  set- 
ting out  from  the  concealed  port  of  Panama.  Herds  of 
cattle,  horses,  and  asses,  feeding  in  the  valley  below  the 
eminence  on  which  they  stood,  formed  a  sight  not  less 
welcome.  They  rushed  to  the  feast ;  and,  cutting  up  the 
animals,  devoured  their  flesh  half-raw,  "more  resembling 
cannibals  than  Europeans  at  this  banquet,  the  blood  many 
times  running  down  from  their  boards  unto  the  middle  of 
their  bodies." 

This  savage  meal  being  ended  the  journey  was  resumed, 
Morgan  still  endeavouring  to  gain  information  by  taking 
prisoners,  as  on  his  whole  line  of  march  he  had  obtained 
speech  of  neither  Spaniard  nor  Indian. 

In  the  same  evening  the  steeple  of  Panama  was  beheld 
at  a  distance  ;  and,  forgetting  all  their  sufferings,  the  Buc- 
aniers gave  way  to  the  most  rapturous  exultation,  tossing 
their  caps  into  the  air,  leaping,  shouting,  beating  their 


BATTLE    WITH    THE    SPANIARDS. 

drums,  and  sounding  their  trumpets  at  the  sight  of  so  glo- 
rious a  plunder,  and  as  if  victory  were  already  consum- 
mated. They  encamped  for  the  night  near  the  city,  in- 
tending to  make  the  assault  early  in  the  morning.  The 
same  night  a  party  of  fifty  Spanish  horsemen  came  out 
as  if  to  reconnoitre,  advanced  within  musket-shot  of  the 
pirates,  scornfully  challenged  "  the  dogs"  to  come  on,  and 
then  retired,  leaving  six  or  eight  of  their  number  to  watch 
the  enemy's  motions.  Upon  this  the  great  guns  of  the 
town  began  to  play  on  the  camp,  but  were  too  distant,  or 
ill  directed,  to  do  any  execution  ;  and  instead  of  betraying 
alarm,  the  Bucaniers,  having  placed  sentinels  around  their 
camp,  made  another  voracious  meal  preparatory  to  the 
next  day's  business,  threw  themselves  upon  the  grass,  and, 
lulled  by  the  Spanish  artillery,  slept  soundly  till  the  dawn. 
The  camp  was  astir  betimes,  and  the  men  being  mustered 
and  arrayed,  with  drums  and  trumpets  sounding  they  ad- 
vanced towards  the  city  ;  but  instead  of  taking  the  ordinary 
route,  which  the  Spaniards  were  prepared  to  defend,  by 
the  advice  of  one  of  the  Indian  guides  they  struck  through 
a  wood,  by  a  tangled  and  difficult  path,  in  which,  however, 
immediate  obstruction  could  not  be  apprehended.  Before 
the  Spaniards  could  counteract  this  unexpected  movement, 
the  Bucaniers  had  advanced  some  way.  The  Governor 
of  Panama,  who  led  the  forces,  commanded  200  cavalry 
and  four  regiments  of  infantry  ;  and  a  number  of  Indian 
auxiliaries  conducted  an  immense  herd  of  wild  bulls,  to  be 
driven  among  the  ranks  of  the  Bucamera,  and  which  were 
expected  to  throw  them  into  disorder.  This  extraordinary 
arm  of  war  was  viewed  by  the  hunters  of  Hispaniola  and 
Campcachy  with  indifference ;  but  they  were  somewhat 
alarmed  at  the  regular  and  imposing  array  of  the  troops 
drawn  up  to  receive  them.  It  was,  however,  too  late  to 
retreat.  They  divided  into  three  detachments,  two  hundred 
dexterous  marksmen  leading  the  advance.  They  now 
stood  on  the  top  of  a  little  eminence,  whence  the  whole 
Spanish  force,  the  city,  and  the  champaign  country  around 
were  distinctly  seen.  As  they  moved  downward  the 
Spanish  cavalry,  shouting  Viva  el  Rey,  immediately  ad- 
vanced to  meet  them  ;  but  the  ground  happened  to  be  soft 
and  marshy,  which  greatly  obstructed  the  manoeuvres  of 
the  horsemen.  The  advance  of  the  Bucaniers,  all  picked 
R 


194  VICTORY    OF    THE    BVCANIERS. 

marksmen,  knelt  and  received  them  with  a  volley,  and  the 
conflict  instantly  became  close  and  hot.  The  Bucaniers, 
throwing  themselves  between  the  Spanish  horse  and  foot, 
succeeded  in  separating  them,  and  the  wild  bulls,  taking 
fright  from  the  tumult  and  the  noise  of  the  guns,  ran  away, 
or  were  shot  by  the  Bucaniers  before  they  could  effect 
any  mischief. 

After  a  contest  of  two  hours  the  Spanish  cavalry  gave 
way.  Many  were  killed,  and  the  rest  fled ;  which  the 
foot-soldiers  perceiving,  fired  their  last  charge,  threw  down 
their  muskets,  and  followed  the  example  of  the  cavaliers. 
Some  of  them  took  refuge  in  the  adjoining  thickets ;  and 
though  the  Bucaniers  did  not  continue  the  pursuit,  they 
took  a  savage  pleasure  in  shooting  without  mercy  all  who 
accidentally  fell  into  their  hands.  In  this  way  several 
priests  and  friars  who  were  made  prisoners  were  pistolled 
by  the  orders  of  Morgan.  A  Spanish  officer  who  was  made 
prisoner  gave  the  Bucaniers  minute  intelligence  of  the  force 
of  the  enemy  and  the  plan  of  defence,  which  enabled  them 
to  approach  the  town  from  the  safest  point ;  but  the  ad- 
vance was  still  attended  with  difficulty. 

After  the  rout  which  had  taken  place  in  the  open  field,  and 
the  slaughter  which  followed,  the  Bucaniers  rested  for  a 
little  space,  and  during  this  pause  solemnly  plighted  their 
honour,  by  oaths  to  each  other,  never  to  yield  while  a  single 
man  remained  alive.  This  done,  carrying  their  prisoners 
with  them,  they  advanced  upon  the  great  guns  planted  in 
the  streets  and  the  hasty  defences  thrown  up  to  repel  them. 
In  this  renewed  assault  the  Bucaniers  suffered  severely 
before  they  could  make  good  those  close  quarters  in  which 
they  ever  maintained  a  decided  superiority  in  fighting.  Still 
they  resolutely  advanced  to  the  final  grapple,  the  Spaniards 
keeping  up  an  incessant  fire.  The  town  was  gained  after 
a  desperate  conflict  of  three  hours  maintained  in  its  open 
streets. 

In  this  assault  the  Bucaniers  neither  gave  nor  accepted 
quarter,  and  the  carnage  on  both  sides  was  great.  Six 
hundred  Spaniards  fell  on  that  day,  nor  was  the  number  of 
the  Bucaniers  who  perished  much  less ;  but  to  those  who 
survived  a  double  share  of  plunder  was  at  all  times  ample 
consolation  for  the  loss  of  companions  whose  services  were 
no  longer  required  in  its  acquisition.  The  city  was  no 


CONFLAGRATION   OF    PANAMA.  195 

sooner  gained  than  Morgan,  who  saw  the  temper  of  the  in- 
hnbitants  in  the  obstinate  nature  of  the  resistance  they  had 
offered,  and  who  well  know  the  besetting  sins  of  his  follow- 
ers, prudently  prohibited  them  from  tasting  wine ;  and 
aware  that  such  an  order  would  be  very  little  regarded  were 
it  enforced  by  nothing  save  a  simple  command,  he  affirmed 
that  he  had  received  private  intelligence  that  all  the  wine 
had  been  poisoned.  They  were  therefore  enjoined  not  to 
touch  it  under  the  dread  of  poisoning  and  the  penalties  of 
discipline.  Neither  of  these  motives  were  sufficient  to  en- 
force rigid  abstinence  among  the  Bucaniers,  though  they 
operated  till  indulgence  became  more  safe. 

As  soon  as  possession  'of  the  city  was  gained  guards 
were  placed,  and  at  the  same  time  fires  broke  out  simulta- 
neously in  different  quarters,  which  were  attributed  by  the 
Spaniards  to  the  pirates,  and  by  them  to  the  inhabitants. 
Both  assisted  in  endeavouring  to  extinguish  the  dreadful 
conflagration,  which  raged  with  fury  ;  but  the  houses,  being 
built  of  cedar,  caught  the  flames  like  tinder,  and  were  con- 
sumed in  a  very  short  time.  The  inhabitants  had  previously 
removed  or  concealed  the  most  valuable  part  of  their  goods 
and  furniture. 

The  city  of  Panama  consisted  of  about  12,000  houses, 
many  of  them  large  and  magnificent.  It  contained  also 
eight  monasteries  and  two  churches,  all  richly  furnished. 
The  concealment  of  the  church-plate  drew  upon  the  eccle- 
siastics the  peculiar  vengeance  of  the  heretical  Bucaniers, 
who,  however,  spared  no  one.  The  conflagration  which 
they  could  not  arrest  they  seemed  at  last  to  take  a  savage 
delight  in  spreading.  A  slave  factory  belonging  to  the  Ge- 
noese was  burnt  to  the  ground,  together  with  many  ware- 
houses stored  with  meal.  Many  of  the  miserable  Africans 
whom  the  Genoese  brought  for  sale  to  Peru  perished  in  the 
flames,  which  raged  or  smouldered  for  nearly  four  weeks. 

For  some  time  the  Bucaniers,  afraid  of  being  surprised 
and  overpowered  by  the  Spaniards,  who  still  reckoned  ten 
for  one  of  their  numbers,  encamped  without  the  town. 
Morgan  had  also  weakened  his  force  by  sending  a  hundred 
and  fifty  men  back  to  Chagre  with  news  of  his  victory.  Yet 
by  this  handful  of  men  the  panic-struck  Spaniards  were 
held  in  check  and  subjection  while  the  Bucaniers  either 
raged  like  demons  through  the  burning  town  or  prowled 


196  PLUNDER    OF    THE    CITY. 

among  the  ruins  and  ashes  in  search  of  plate  and  other 
valuable  articles. 

The  property  which  the  Spaniards  had  concealed  in  deep 
wells  and  cisterns  was  nearly  all  discovered,  and  the  most 
active  of  the  Bucaniers  were  sent  out  to  the  woods  and 
heights  to  search  for  and  drive  back  the  miserable  inhabit- 
ants who  had  fled  from  the  city  with  their  effects.  In  two 
days  they  brought  in  about  two  hundred  of  the  fugitives  as 
prisoners.  Of  those  unhappy  persons  many  were  females, 
who  found  the  merciless  Bucaniers  no  better  than  their  fears 
had  painted  them.* 

In  plundering  the  land  Morgan  had  not  neglected  the  sea. 
By  sea  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  had  escaped,  and 
a  boat  was  immediately  sent  in  pursuit,  which  brought  in 
three  prizes ;  though  a  galleon,  in  which  was  embarked  all 
the  plate  and  jewels  belonging  to  the  King  of  Spain  and  the 
wealth  of  the  principal  nunnery  of  the  town,  escaped,  from 
the  Bucaniers  indulging  in  a  brutal  revel  in  their  own  bark 
till  it  was  too  late  to  follow  and  capture  the  ship.  The  pur- 
suit was  afterward  continued  for  four  days,  at  the  end  of 
which  the  Bucaniers  returned  to  Panama  with  another  prize, 
worth  20,000  pieces  of  eight  in  goods,  from  Paita. 

*  The  Spanish  colonists  of  South  America  had  a  twofold  reason  for 
detesting  the  Bucaniers.  They  were  English  heretics  as  well  as  lawless 
miscreants,  capable  of  the  foulest  crimes ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  say 
whether  in  the  idea  of  the  indolent,  uninstructed,  priestridden  inhabitants 
of  Panama,  Porto  Bello,  and  Carthagena  they  were  not  as  hateful  and 
alarming  in  the  first  character  as  in  the  last.  A  Spanish  lady,  one  of 
his  prisoners,  with  whom  Morgan  the  Bucanier  commander  fell  in  love, 
is  described  as  believing,  till  she  saw  them,  that  the  freebooters  were  not 
men,  but  some  sort  of  monsters  named  heretics,  "  who  did  neither  invoke 
the  blessed  Trinity,  nor  believe  in  Jesus  Christ."  The  civilities  of  Cap- 
tain Morgan  inclined  her  to  better  thoughts  of  his  faith  and  Christianity, 
especially  as  she  heard  him  frequently  swear  by  the  sacred  names. 
"  Neither  did  she  now  think  them  to  be  so  bad,  or  to  have  the  shapes  of 
beasts,  as  from  the  relations  of  several  people  she  had  heard  oftentimes. 
For  as  to  the  name  of  robbers  or  thieves  which  was  commonly  given  them 
by  others,  she  wondered  not  much  at  it,  seeing,  as  she  said,  that  among  all 
nations  of  tUe  universe  there  be  found  wicked  men  who  covet  the  goods 
of  others."  It  is  clear  that  the  heretic  was  as  great  a  curiosity,  if  not  a 
more  truculent  monster  than  the  Bucanier.  Another  lady  of  Panama 
was  very  curious  to  see  the  extraordinary  animals  called  Bucaniers,  and 
the  first  time  she  had  that  happiness  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Jesu  bless  me  ! 
these  thieves  are  like  unto  us  Spaniards."  About  a  century  before  the 
storming  of  Panama  one  powerful  reason  with  the  Spaniards  for  pre- 
venting the  English  from  passing  the  Straits  of  Magellan  was,  to  pre- 
serve the  natives  of  the  newly-discovered  islands  of  the  Pacific  "  from 
the  venom  of  their  heresy." 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    BTJCANIERS.  197 

Meanwhile,  on  the  opposite  coast,  the  ships'  companies 
left  at  Chagre  were  exercising  their  vocation,  and  had  cap- 
tured one  largo  Spanish  vessel,  which,  unaware  of  the 
hands  into  which  the  castle  had  fallen,  ran  in  under  it  for 
protection. 

While  the  Bucaniers  were  thus  employed  at  sea,  and  at 
Panama  and  Chagre,  parties  continued  to  scour  the  sur- 
rounding country,  taking  in  turn  the  congenial  duty  of  foray- 
ing and  bringing  in  booty  and  prisoners,  on  whom  they  ex- 
ercised the  most  atrocious  cruelties,  unscrupulously  em- 
ploying the  rack,  and  sparing  neither  age,  sex,  nor  condition. 
Religious  persons  were  the  subjects  of  the  most  refined 
barbarity,  as  they  were  believed  to  direct  and  influence  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants,  both  in  their  first  resistance  and  in 
the  subsequent  concealment  of  property.  During  the  per- 
potration  of  these  outrages,  Morgan,  as  has  been  noticed, 
fell  in  love  with  a  beautiful  Spanish  woman,  his  prisoner, 
and  the  wife  of  one  of  the  principal  merchants.  She  re- 
jected his  infamous  addresses  with  firmness  and  spirit ;  and 
the  Bucanier  commander,  alike  a  ruffian  in  his  love  and 
hate,  used  her  with  severity  that  disgusted  even  those  of  his 
own  gang  who  had  not  thrown  aside  every  feeling  of  man- 
hood ;  and  he  was  fain  to  charge  his  fair  prisoner  with 
treachery  to  excuse  the  baseness  of  the  treatment  she  re- 
ceived by  his  orders.  This  alleged  treachery  consisted  in 
corresponding  with  her  countrymen,  and  endeavouring  to 
effect  her  escape. 

In  the  mean  while  a  plan  had  entered  the  minds  of  a  party 
of  the  Bucaniers  which  did  not  suit  the  views  nor  meet  the 
approbation  of  their  leader.  They  had  resolved  to  seize  a 
ship  in  the  port,  cruise  upon  the  South  Sea  on  their  own 
account  till  satiated  with  booty,  and  then  either  establish 
themselves  on  some  island,  or  return  to  Europe  by  the  East 
Indies.  Captain  Morgan  could  neither  spare  equipments 
nor  men  for  this  project,  of  which  he  received  private  in- 
formation. He  immediately  ordered  the  mainmast  of  the 
«hip  to  be  cut  down  and  burnt,  together  with  every  other 
vessel  in  the  port,  thus  effectually  preventing  desertion  on 
this  side  of  America.  The  arms,  ammunition,  and  stores 
secretly  collected  for  this  bold  cruise  on  the  South  Sea  were 
applied  to  other  purposes. 

JYothing  more  was  to  be  wrung   forth  from  Panama, 


198  THE  CAPTIVES  OF  THE  BUCANIERS. 

which,  after  a  destructive  sojourn  of  four  weeks,  Morgan 
resolved  to  leave.  Beasts  of  burden  were  therefore  collected 
from  all  quarters  to  convey  the  spoils  to  the  opposite  coast. 
The  cannon  were  spiked,  and  scouts  sent  out  to  learn  what 
measures  had  been  taken  by  the  Governor  of  Panama  to 
intercept  the  return  to  Chagre.  The  Spaniards  were  too 
much  depressed  to  have  made  any  preparation  either  to  an- 
noy or  cut  off  the  retreat  of  their  inveterate  enemies ;  and 
on  the  24th  February  the  Bucaniers,  apprehensive  of  no  op- 
position, left  the  ruins  of  Panama  with  a  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five mules  laden  with  their  spoils  and  above  six  hundred 
prisoners,  including  women,  children,  and  slaves.  The 
misery  of  these  wretched  captives,  driven  on  in  the  midst 
of  the  armed  Bucaniers,  exceeds  description.  They  be- 
lieved that  they  were  all  to  be  carried  to  Jamaica,  England, 
or  some  equally  wild,  distant,  and  savage  country,  to  be 
sold  for  slaves  ;  and  the  cruel  craft  of  Morgan  heightened 
these  fears,  the  more  readily  to  extort  the  ransom  he  de- 
manded for  the  freedom  of  his  unhappy  prisoners.  In  vain 
the  women  threw  themselves  at  his  feet  supplicating  for  the 
mercy  of  being  allowed  to  remain  amid  the  ruins  of  their 
former  homes,  or  in  the  woods  in  huts  with  their  husbands 
and  children.  His  answer  was,  "  that  he  came  not  here  to 
listen  to  cries  and  lamentations,  but  to  get  money,  which 
unless  he  obtained  he  would  assuredly  carry  them  all  where 
they  would  little  like  to  go."  Three  days  were  granted,  in 
which  they  might  avail  themselves  of  the  conditions  of  ran- 
som. Several  were  happy  enough  to  be  able  to  redeem 
themselves,  or  were  rescued  by  the  contributions  sent  in ; 
and  with  the  remaining  captives  the  pirates  pushed  onward, 
making  new  prisoners  and  gathering  fresh  spoils  on  their  way. 
The  conduct  of  Morgan  at  this  time  disproves  many  of 
the  extravagant  notions  propagated  about  the  high  honour 
of  the  Bucaniers  in  their  dealings  with  each  other.  Halting 
at  a  convenient  place  for  his  purpose,  in  the  midst  of  the 
wilderness,  and  about  half-way  to  Chagre,  he  drew  up  his 
comrades,  and  insisted  that,  besides  taking  an  oath  declaring 
that  all  plunder  had  been  surrendered  to  the  common  stock, 
each  man  should  be  searched,  he  himself  submitting  in  the 
first  place  to  the  degrading  scrutiny,  though  it  was  sus- 
pected that  the  leading  motive  of  the  whole  manoeuvre  was 
Ihe  desire  of  concealing  his  own  peculation  and  fraudulent 


MORGAN   STEALS   AWAY.  199 

dealing  with  his  associates.  The  French  Bucaniers  who 
accompanied  the  expedition  were  indignant  at  treatment  so 
much  at  variance  with  the  maxims  and  usages  of  the  gen- 
tlemen rovers  ;  but  being  the  weaker  party  they  were  com- 
pelled to  submit. 

The  Bucaniers  and  their  prisoners  performed  the  remain- 
der of  the  journey  by  water ;  and  when  arrived  at  Chagre, 
Morgan,  who  knew  not  how  to  dispose  of  his  unredeemed 
prisoners,  shipped  them  all  ofT  for  Porto  Bello,  making  them 
the  bearers  of  his  demand  of  ransom  from  the  governor  of 
that  city  for  the  castle  of  Chagre.  To  this  insolent  message 
the  Governor  of  Porto  Bello  replied,  that  Morgan  might  make 
of  the  castle  what  he  pleased  ;  not  a  ducat  should  be  given 
for  its  ransom. 

There  was  thus  no  immediate  prospect  of  any  more  plun- 
der in  this  quarter,  and  nothing  remained  to  be  done  but  to 
divide  the  spoils  already  acquired.  The  individual  shares 
fell  so  far  short  of  the  expectations  of  the  Bucaniers  that 
they  openly  grumbled,  and  accused  their  chief  of  the  worst 
crime  of  which  in  their  eyes  he  could  be  guilty, — secreting 
the  richest  of  the  jewels  for  himself.  Two  hundred  pieces 
of  eight  each  man  was  thought  a  very  small  return  for  the 
plunder  of  so  wealthy  a  city,  and  a  very  trifling  reward  for 
the  toil  and  danger  that  had  been  undergone  in  assaulting 
it.  M  alters  were  assuming  so  serious  an  aspect  among  the 
fraternity  that  Morgan,  who  knew  the  temper  of  his  friends, 
deemed  it  advisable  to  steal  away  with  what  he  had  ob- 
tained. He  immediately  made  the  wails  of  Chagre  be  de- 
stroyed, carried  the  guns  on  board  his  own  ship,  and,  fol- 
lowed by  one  or  two  vessels  commanded  by  persons  in  his 
confidence,  sailed  for  Jamaica,  leaving  his  enraged  asso- 
ciates in  want  of  every  necessary.  Those  who  followed 
him  were  all  Englishmen,  who,  as  the  French  Bucaniers 
fully  believed,  connived  at  the  frauds  and  shared  in  the  gains 
of  Morgan.  They  would  instantly  have  pursued  him  to  sea, 
and  the  Spaniards  might  have  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  Bucanier  fleet  divided  and  fighting  against  itself, 
had  they  with  a  force  so  much  weaker,  dared  to  venture  so 
unequal  an  encounter.  The  vessels  deserted  by  Morgan 
separated  here,  and  the  companies  sought  their  fortunes  in 
different  quarters,  none  of  them  much  the  richer  for  the 
misery  and  devastation  they  had  carried  to  Panama. 


200    PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  GOVERNOR. 

Morgan,  on  arriving  at  Jamaica  laden  with  plunder,  and 
exulting  in  his  late  exploit,  endeavoured  once  more  to  levy 
recruits  for  the  independent  state  he  still  longed  to  establish 
at  Santa  Kntalina,  and  of  which  he  himself,  already  admiral 
and  generalissimo  of  the  Bucaniers,  was  to  be  the  prince  or 
governor.  But  circumstances  were  still  unfavourable. 
Lord  John  Vaughan,  the  newly-appointed  Governor  of  Ja- 
maica, had  orders  strictly  to  enforce  the  treaty  with  Spain 
formed  in  the  previous  year,  but  to  proclaim  pardon  and  in- 
demnity, and  offer  a  grant  of  lands  to  such  of  the  Bucaniers 
as  chose  to  become  peaceful  cultivators.  Future  depreda- 
tions on  the  trade  or  settlements  of  Spain  were  forbidden 
by  the  royal  proclamation,  and  under  severe  penalties.  But 
it  was  not  a  proclamation,  however  strongly  worded,  that 
could  at  once  tame  down  the  lawless  Bucanier  into  a  planter, 
or  confine  to  thirty-seven  acres  of  ground  him  who  had  for 
years  freely  roamed  through  soa  and  land,  with  his  sword 
reaping  his  harvest  wherever  men  of  greater  industry  had 
sown  it.  To  adopting  the  habits  of  peaceful  life  many  of 
the  English  Bucaniers  preferred  joining  the  Flibustiers  at 
Tortuga,  or  becoming  logwood-cutters  in  the  Bay  of  Cam- 
peachy  ;  and,  ''ickily  for  the  remainder,  in  the  next  year  a 
war  broke  out  between  Great  Britain  and  Holland,  which 
enabled  some  of  them  to  follow  their  old  vocation  as  pri- 
vateers ;  Bucaniers  and  Flibustiers  alike  exercising  their 
industry  for  a  short  time  against  the  Dutch  instead  of  their 
old  enemies  the  Spaniards. 

Before  quitting  this  part  of  the  subject,  it  may  be  proper 
to  notice  the  conclusion  of  the  adventures  of  the  notorious 
Morgan.  In  the  year  which  elapsed  between  the  plunder 
of  Panama  and  1680,  he  had  sufficient  address  and  interest, 
or,  more  probably,  skill  in  the  appliance  of  his  ill-gotten 
wealth,  to  obtain  from  Charles  II.  the  honour  of  knight- 
hood, and  afterward  to  be  appointed  deputy-governor  of 
Jamaica.  Though  it  was  believed  that  he  still  secretly 
shared  in  the  plundering  adventures  of  the  Bucaniers, 
Morgan  treated  many  of  his  old  comrades  with  very  great 
severity.  Several  of  them  were  hanged  under  his  admin- 
istration, and  others  he  delivered  up  to  the  Spaniards  at 
Carthagena,  as  was  believed,  for  the  price  of  blood  ;  nor 
does  the  character  of  Morgan  make  this  suspicion  improb- 
able. The  strict  justice  and  severity  exercised  by  the 


BUCANIER  EXPLOITS  AT  VERA  CRUZ.   201 

deputy-governor  on  his  old  friends  and  countrymen  did 
not,  however,  dispose  the  Spaniards  to  unlimited  confidence 
in  Morgan  ;  and  suspecting  him  of  secretly  favouring  the 
Bucaniers,  who  had  once  more  increased,  they  were  able, 
after  the  accession  of  James  II.,  to  get  him  removed  from 
his  office  and  committed  for  a  time  to  prison  in  England. 

The  same  unwise  restrictions  and  troublesome  inter- 
ference with  the  cultivation  and  commerce  of  the  colonies 
which  had  encouraged  the  system  of  bucaniering  in  its  com- 
mencement fostered  it  once  more,  though  France,  instead 
of  Spain,  was  become  the  agent  in  this  mistaken  policy. — 
The  regulations  adopted  by  the  government  of  France  for 
the  West  India  trade,  and  the  partial  and  oppressive  ad- 
ministration of  colonial  affairs,  tended  more  than  any  other 
circumstance  to  recruit  the  ranks  of  the  freebooters, — men, 
disturbed  in  their  peaceful  industry  by  vexatious  and 
annoying  prohibitions  and  monopolies,  readily  placing 
themselves  beyond  the  law,  which  was  more  their  torment 
than  protection.  Thus,  though  the  freebooters  were  at 
length  crushed  by  the  express  prohibitions  of  their  several 
countries,  they  were  incited  by  causes  more  powerful,  origi- 
nating in  the  same  source. 

In  1683,  the  Bucaniers,  led  by  three  noted  chiefs,  Van 
Horn,  Grammont,  and  Laurent  de  Graff,  by  a  stratagem 
took  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Many 
of  the  English  Bucaniers  were  engaged  in  this  expedition, 
though  none  of  them  held  high  command.  This  was 
reckoned  the  most  brilliant  exploit  that  had  yet  been  achieved 
by  the  Flibustiers.  Their  mode  of  attack  was  similar  to 
that  which  had  been  practised  by  Drake  a  'century  before. 
In  the  darkness  of  night  a  sufficient  force  was  landed,  which 
marched  three  leagues  over  land,  and  before  dawn  surprised 
and  captured  the  city.  The  inhabitants  were  shut  up  in 
the  churches,  the  usual  prison  of  the  Bucaniers,  at  the 
door  of  each  of  which  barrels  of  gunpowder  were  placed, 
and  sentinels  beside  them,  holding  a  lighted  match,  ready 
to  produce  an  explosion  at  a  moment's  notice,  or  on  the 
slightest  symptom  of  revolt.  The  city  was  thus  pillaged 
without  molestation  from  the  inhabitants  ;  and  the  famished 
prisoners  in  the  churches  were  afterward  glad  to  purchase 
their  freedom  on  any  terms  their  conquerors  chose  to  dic- 
tate. Ten  millions  of  livres  were  demanded  as  a  ransom, 


202  THE    BUCANIERS    TURN* 

and  the  half  of  it  had  been  raised  and  paid  in,  when  the 
appearance  of  a  body  of  troops  and  a  fleet  of  seventeen 
ships  caused  the  freebooters  to  make  a  precipitate  but 
well-ordered  retreat,  carrying  off  1500  slaves.  Loaded 
with  their  booty  and  prisoners,  they  boldly  sailed  through 
the  fleet  sent  to  attack  them,  which  did  not  venture  to  fire 
a  single  gun.  They  might  probably  have  roused  the 
Spaniards  from  their  fear  or  lethargy  by  an  assault,  had 
they  not  b/jen  more  careful  to  preserve  the  plunder  they 
had  obtained  than  desirous  of  a  barren  naval  victory  over 
ships  carrying  no  cargoes. 

Fortunately  for  the  freedom  and  repose  of  the  Spanish 
colonists,  no  Bucanier  corps  ever  agreed,  or  acted  in  har- 
mony, for  any  length  of  time.  Their  lawless  unions  fell  to 
pieces  even  more  rapidly  than  they  were  formed  ;  and  those 
of  the  French  and  English  seldom  adhered  even  to  the  con- 
clusion of  a  joint  expedition.  On  the  present  occasion 
they  separated  in  wrath,  the  Frenchmen  employing  the 
pretext  of  the  quarrel  they  artfully  fomented  to  with- 
hold the  Englishmen's  share  of  the  pillage.  The  latter 
cruises  of  the  Bucaniers  were  in  few  respects  distinguished 
by  the  honour  and  integrity  among  themselves  which  were 
said  to  have  marked  their  first  exploits.  The  French  Fli- 
bustier  now  sought  but  a  shallow  excuse  to  plunder  the  Eng- 
lish Bucanier,  who,  on  the  other  side,  lost  no  opportunity 
of  retaliation. 

The  tardy  though  now  earnest  efforts  of  France  and 
Britain  to  crush  the  brethren  of  the  coast,  the  increasing 
military  and  maritime  strength  of  the  Spanish  colonists, 
and  above  all  a  field  too  narrow  and  exhausted  for  the  nu- 
merous labourers,  together  with  wild  and  magnificent  ideas 
of  the  wealth  of  Peru,  were  so  many  powerful  motives 
urging  the  Bucaniers,  whether  French  or  English,  upon  en- 
terprises in  a  new  and  wider  region.  Among  them  an  esti- 
mate was  formed  of  the  riches  of  the  western  shores,  from 
the  single  circumstance,  that  in  a  few  years  after  the  visit  of 
Morgan,  anew  city  of  Panama  had  arisen,  which  in  splen- 
dour and  wealth  eclipsed  the  desolated  town.  The  Peruvian 
coast  and  the  South  Sea,  in  all  their  riches  and  extent, 
presented  a  field  which  neither  the  long  arm  of  France  nor 
the  powerful  hand  of  England  could  reach  ;  and  of  the 
opposition  to  be  feared  from  the  indolent  and  effeminate 


THEIR  THOUGHTS  TO  PERU.      203 

inhabitants  the  expedition  of  Morgan  had  afforded  a  very 
satisfactory  specimen.  In  the  new  design  of  crossing  the 
continent,  and  searching  for  untried  regions  of  conquest  and 
spoliation,  the  Bucaniers  were  rather  urged  by  personal 
motives  of  rapacity,  and  the  desire  of  escaping  from  the 
colonial  officials  of  the  West  India  islands — who  latterly 
either  shared  their  booty  or  treated  them  with  crreat  severity, 
and  not  unfrequently  did  both — than  influenced  by  any 
enlightened  or  comprehensive  plan  of  operations.  The 
wealth  of  this  new  region  and  the  ease  with  which  it 
might  be  acquired  were  primary  reasons ;  personal  security 
was  merely  secondary  ;  and  beyond  these  motives  this 
chaotic  banditti  never  once  looked  ;  all  their  ideas  of  con- 
quest being  limited  to  the  plunder  of  a  city  or  a  ship,  to 
plate,  silks,  and  pieces  of  eight ;  nor  were  their  enjoyments 
and  pleasures  of  a  more  liberal  or  elevated  kind.  We  may 
therefore  without  much  regret  here  close  this  general  sketch 
of  the  Bucaniers.  All  that  is  interesting  in  their  subse- 
quent career,  from  the  plundering  of  Vera  Cruz  in  the  Bay 
of  Mexico  to  their  decay  and  suppression,  is  closely  in- 
terwoven with  the  personal  adventures  of  Dampier,  on 
which  we  are  now  to  enter.  And  in  the  narrative  of  this 
remarkable  navigator,  instead  of  monotonous  details  of 
fraud,  rapacity,  and  cruelty,  on  which  it  has  been  painful 
to  linger,  the  reader  is  gratified  with  the  researches  and 
discoveries  of  natural  science,  and  with  pictures  of  life  and 
manners,  curious,  novel,  and  attractive,  which  have  never 
yet,  among  the  multitude  of  succeeding  European  naviga- 
tors, fallen  under  the  notice  of  a  more  acute  and  accurate 
observer,  or  obtained  a  delineator  more  faithful  and  lively, 
and  occasionally  more  glowing  and  poetical,  than  the  ex- 
traordinary man  whose  history  we  are  now  to  follow,  com- 
mencing with  his  early  wanderings  among  the  Bucaniers. 


204  ANCESTRY  OF  DAMPIER. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

•Adventures  among  the  Woodcutters  and  Bucaniers. 

Ancestry  and  Education  of  Dampier — His  Voyage  to  India — Goes  to 
Jamaica  as  a  Planter— Becomes  a  Logwood-cutter  in  Campeachy— 
Habits  of  the  Wood-cutters — Appearance  of  the  Country— Its  Natural 
Productions— The  Wild  Pine — Snakes— Ants— The  Humming-bird — 
Alligators— Dampier  loses  himself  in  the  Woods— Copartnership  with 
three  Scotchmen — Dreadful  Hurricane  in  the  Bay — Its  Consequences 
— Beef  Island — The  Indians— John  d'Acosta — Mode  of  hocksing  Cattle 
— Dampior  joins  the  Bucaniers  —  The  Manatee,  or  Sea-cow  —  The 
River  Tobasco— Indians  under  the  Spanish  Priests — Their  Manners 
and  Condition — Attack  of  Alvarado — Escape  of  the  Bucaniers  from 
the  Spanish  Armadilloes— 3/iwjacfc— Dampier  rejoins  the  Logwood- 
cutters — Returns  to  England. 

To  Captain  Dampier  himself  the  world  is  indebted  for  the 
only  record  of  his  early  history  which  can  be  considered 
authentic.  He  was  born  about  1652,  at  East  Coker,  near 
Yeovil,  a  considerable  market-town  in  Somersetshire.  His 
father  was  probably  a  farmer  ;  and  we  learn  incidentally 
that  his  mother,  when  a  widow,  along  with  whatever  other 
property  she  might  possess,  held  the  lease  of  a  small  farm 
at  East  Coker  from  Colonel  Hellier,  the  lord  of  the  manor. 
The  small  farms  in  this  parish  were  held  for  lives,  and  va- 
ried in  rent  from  20/.  to  50/.  By  a  singular,  but  then  prob- 
ably a  common  arrangement,  each  occupier  had  a  patch  of 
land  of  every  different  kind  of  soil,  lying  apart  or  scattered 
throughout  the  parish,  as  black-loam,  clayey,  and  sandy 
ground,  which  varied  in  rent  from  forty,  thirty,  and  twenty 
shillings  an  acre,  down  to  ten  groats  for  the  poorest.  On 
these  scattered  patches  every  yeoman  raised  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  beans,  rye,*  hemp,  and  flax,  for  the  consumption  of 
his  own  family.  The  statistics  of  East  Cokcr  afford  a  cu- 
rious picture  of  English  agriculture,  and  of  that  race  of 
primitive  cultivators  who  have  long  since  disappeared,  and 
will  ever  be  regretted. 

*  Dampier,  in  the  early  edition  of  his  tvork  which  lies  before  us,  say* 
rice :  but  this  is  probably  a  slip  of  the  pen  of  one  who  was  now  more 
femiliar  with  this  foreign  grain  than  -with  the  rye  of  his  childhood. 


VOYAGE  TO  INDIA.  205 

Before  the  death  of  his  parents,  which  happened  while  he 
was  very  young,  Dampier  had  begun  to  receive  the  elements 
of  a  classical  education  ;  but  on  this  event  taking  place  his 
studies  were  suspended,  and  he  was  sent  to  acquire  writing 
and  arithmetic,  to  qualify  him  for  some  humbler  employment 
than  might  have  been  originally  designed  ;  and  in  a  short 
time  after  the  death  of  his  mother  he  was  placed  with  a 
shipmaster  belonging  to  Weymouth.  Slender  as  his  ad- 
vantages of  early  education  appear  to  have  been,  he  profited 
so  largely  by  thorn  as  to  afford  one  more  proof  that  the  best 
part  of  a  man's  learning  is  that  which  he  acquires  by  himself. 

William  Dampier's  first  voyage  was  to  France,  his  next 
to  Newfoundland,  in  which  he  suffered  so  severely  from  the 
climate,  that  he  almost  resolved  against  returning  to  sea  ; 
but  this  determination  was  commuted  into  a  resolution  not 
to  try  the  same  ungenial  quarter.  Dampier,  now  about 
eighteen,  was  already  animated  by  the  restless  activity,  the 
curiosity,  love  of  vicissitude,  adventure,  and  peril,  which 
form  the  strong  and  marking  characteristics  of  the  youth 
who  is  born  a  seaman.  "  The  offer,"  he  says,  "  of  a  long 
voyage  and  a  warm  one  soon  carried  me  to  sea  again."  He 
entered  as  a  foremast-man  on  board  the  Martha  East  India- 
man,  which  sailed  direct  from  London  to  Bantam  ;  from 
whence,  after  a  stay  of  two  months,  he  returned  within 
little  more  than  the  year.  From  his  early  childhood  Dam- 
pier  had  been  a  keen  observer.  On  his  former  voyages  he 
had  gained  some  nautical  experience,  which  he  enlarged 
during  the  present,  diligently  studying  the  practical  part  of 
his  profession,  though  he  had  not  yet  commenced  a  journal, 
the  keeping  of  which  came  to  be  the  solace  of  his  roam- 
ing unconnected  life,  and  the  means  of  great  mental  im- 
provement. 

The  summer  after  his  return  from  India  Dampier  spent 
with  his  brother  in  Somersetshire,  whose  house  in  early  life 
seems  to  have  been  his  home  while  on  shore.  His  next  ser- 
vice was  on  board  the  Royal  Prince,  in  which  he  enlisted) 
England  being  then  at  war  with  Holland.  He  was  in  two 
engagements  ;  but  of  a  third  fought  by  the  ship,  in  which 
the  commander,  Sir  Edward  Sprague,  was  killed,  he  was 
not  a  witness,  having  previously  fallen  into  bad  health- 
From  the  ship  he  was  sent  to  Harwich  hospital,  and  finally 
to  his  brother's,  where  he  slowly  recovered. 
S 


206  DAMPIER  ENGAGES  AS  A  PLANTER. 

With  returning  health  the  love  of  the  sea  recurred  ;  but 
Dampier  meanwhile  accepted  the  offer  of  Colonel  Hellier, 
and  went  to  Jamaica  as  under-manager  of  a  plantation  be- 
longing to  that  gentleman,  forming  a  special  agreement  with 
the  captain  to  protect  himself  from  the  frauds  of  the  kid- 
nappers. The  ship  went  "  merrily  along,"  steering  for 
Barbadoes,  which  was  the  first  of  the  islands  that  Dampier 
beheld.  He  was  at  this  time  twenty-two  years  of  age,  ac- 
tive, intelligent,  and  full  of  an  instinctive  curiosity,  already 
under  the  guidance  of  a  strong,  clear,  and  prompt  under- 
standing. 

St.  Lucia  was  next  seen,  and  afterward  Tobago  and  St. 
Vincent's.  He  whose  glance  was  ever  quick  and  sure  for 
every  natural  production  of  a  new  country  was  not  likely 
to  neglect  its  people.  The  condition  of  the  Carib  Indians, 
the  aborigines  of  the  islands,  forcibly  arrested  the  attention 
of  the  young  voyager  ;  and  he  relates  a  contemporary  inci- 
dent in  a  manner  which  betrays,  rather  than  states,  the  sound- 
ness and,  when  the  era  is  considered,  the  liberality  of  his 
opinions  and  the  correctness  of  his  moral  feelings,  while 
it  places  the  Indian  character  in  a  favourable  and  also  in  a 
fair  light,  as  contrasted  with  the  European  of  the  colonies. 

In  passing  St.  Lucia^  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  seeing  a 
smoke  on  the  shore,  the  usual  token  of  inhabitation,  sent  off 
a  boat  to  purchase  those  fruits  with  which  the  Indians  often 
supplied  English  vessels  sailing  by.  Three  Indians  came 
to  the  ship's  side  in  a  canoe  laden  with  sugar-canes,  and 
also  with  plantains,  pineapples,  and  other  tropical  fruits, 
They  seemed  much  agitated,  and  often  repeated  the  name 
of  "  Captain  Warner/'  It  proved  that  this  Captain  War- 
ner was  the  son  of  Governor  Warner  of  Antigua,  by  an  In- 
dian woman.  He  had  been  bred  in  his  father's  family  as 
an  English  youth,  but  had  acquired  the  language  of  his 
mother's  tribe.  As  he  grew  up,  rinding  himself  ill-treated 
and  despised,  he  fled  to  St.  Lucia,  and  living  among  his 
Carib  kinsmen,  adopted  their  manners,  and  became  one  of 
their  chiefs,  roving  with  them  from  island  to  island,  making 
inroads  upon  the  planters,  not  sparing  even  Antigua.  To 
avenge  these  injuries  the  legitimate  son  of  the  governor 
went  out  at  the  head  of  a  party  to  encounter  the  Indians, 
and  accidentally  met  with  his  "Carib  brother.  The  young 
man  atfected  great,  joy  at  the  meeting,  and  invited  his  halt- 


LOGWOOD-CUTTERS  OF  CAMPEACHY.  207 

blood  elder  brother  witb  bis  warri9rs  to  a  feast,  at  which, 
on  a  preconcerted  signal,  the  chief  and  all  the  Indians  were 
treacherously  slaughtered.  It  was  said  that  the  murdered 
Warner  had  been  the  friend  of  the  English,  and  that  pride 
alone  instigated  the  young  Creole  to  this  perfidious  butchery. 
*'  Such  perfidious  doings  as  these,"  says  Dampier,  "  are 
great  hindrances  to  our  gaining  an  interest  with  the  Indians, 
besides  the  baseness  of  them." 

As  a  planter  Dampier  was  "  clearly  out  of  his  element ;" 
and  after  spending  some  time  in  this  ungenial  occupation, 
he  engaged  with  different  traders  belonging  to  Port  Royal, 
who  coasted  round  Jamaica,  carrying  goods  from  the  planta- 
tions to  that  port.  In  these  coasting  voyages  he  became 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  harbours  and  bays  of  the 
island,  and  with  the  land  and  sea  winds  and  currents. 
Availing  himself  of  every  opportunity  and  means  of  ac- 
quiring knowledge,  Dampier  appears  through  life  to  have 
become  wearied  of  every  scene  the  moment  he  had  ex- 
hausted the  information  it  afforded,  and  to  have  longed  for 
change  as  soon  as  he  had  over-mastered  its  difficulties. 
His  next  voyage,  undertaken  in  August,  1675,  was  to  the 
island  of  Trist,  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy,  for  a  cargo  of  log- 
wood. In  these  late  voyages  he  acted  in  the  capacity  of  a 
common  sailor  in  a  small  vessel ;  but  he  now  kept  a  regu- 
lar journal,  and  was  no  common  observer.  On  this  voyage 
to  Campeachy  his  nautical  remarks  and  olwservations  on 
the  appearances  and  bearings  of  the  coasts,  the  headlands, 
bays,  and  islands,  are  ample  and  exact, — distinguished  by 
the  clearness  and  perspicuity  which  are  visible  in  all  his 
subsequent  relations.  They  anchored  at  One-Bush-Key, 
an  islet  about  a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  so  named  from 
having  a  single  stunted  tree. 

The  life  of  the  logwood-cutters  of  the  Bay  of  Cam- 
peachy,  free  and  unrestrained,  had  many  charms  for  the 
young  adventurer,  and  their  jovial  manners  and  frank  hos- 
pitality, with  the  lucrative  nature  of  the  occupation  of  these 
merry  foresters,  made  him  resolve  to  return  and  join  their 
ranks  as  soon  as  his  present  engagement  terminated. 

Logwood-cutting  had  now  in  many  instances  taken  place 
of  the  hunting  of  wild  cattle,  which  were  become  scarce. 
Some  adventurers  pursued  both  vocations,  and  others  were 
wood-cutters  alone.  A  third  class  occasionally  added  the 


208  VOYAGE  FROM  TRIST  TO  JAMAICA. 

variety  and  profit  of  a  privateering  cruise  to  their  quieter 
employments. 

The  logwood-cutters  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy  at  this 
time  amounted  to  about  250  men,  mostly  natives  of  Eng- 
land, though  there  were  also  Scotchmen  and  Irishmen  among 
their  number.  By  Spain  they  were  considered  interlopers, 
and  the  trade  contraband ;  but  this  did  not  much  disturb 
their  consciences.  Their  general  practice  was  to  make  up 
a  cargo  in  joint  stock  companies,  the  partnership  lasting 
till  the  contract  for  the  number  of  tons  agreed  on  was  com- 
pleted. 

The  traders  who  bought  the  die-wood  carried  the  wood- 
cutters rum,  sugar,  tobacco,  and  other  things  necessary  to 
them.  The  trade  was  usually  opened  by  a  solemn  drinking- 
match  on  board  the  ships,  where  healths  were  pledged,  and 
salvoes  fired  in  honour  of  each  pledge,  with  all  the  custom- 
ary demonstrations  of  Bucanier  banqueting.  The  trader 
who  was  the  most  liberal  of  his  rum-punch  on  such  festive 
occasions  might  assure  himself  of  the  best  bargain  of  log- 
wood ;  the  cutters  priding  themselves  upon  cheating  those 
they  thought  niggardly  of  their  liquor  and  good  cheer. 

While  taking  in  the  cargo  Dampier  was  often  on  shore, 
and  frequently  visited  the  cabins  of  the  woodmen,  who  hos- 
pitably entertained  him  with  the  rough  substantial  fare 
which  abounded  among  them, — pork  and  pease, — or  beef, 
for  which  they  hunted  in  the  savannas, — with  doughboys, 
a  kind  of  thick  unleavened  cake,  which,  when  on  shore, 
the  Bucaniers  and  hunters  often  kneaded  for  themselves. 
They  were  equally  profuse  of  their  liquor  while  the  supply 
lasted. 

The  returning  voyage  of  Dampier  to  Jamaica  was  singu- 
larly disastrous,  and  between  Trist  and  Port-Royal  the 
passage  occupied  thirteen  weeks.  Of  the  adventures  and 
perils  of  this  voyage  he  has  left  a  very  lively  account.  A 
passenger  who  returned  with  them  to  Jamaica — a  prisoner 
who  had  escaped  from  the  Spaniards — from  his  experience 
of  this  coast,  was  the  means  of  saving  them  from  being 
captured  by  a  Spanish  vessel,  which  gave  chase  to  their 
bark.  Though  the  crew  had  botlr  fished  and  hunted  at 
several  places  before  they  reached  Jamaica,  they  were  du- 
ring most  part  of  the  passage  greatly  pinched  for  provisions ; 
and  on  coming  to  anchor  after  so  many  hardships,  they 


CONDITION  OF  THE  WOOD-CUTTERS.  209 

sent  ashore  for  a  supply,  made  a  feast,  and  were  just  com- 
pounding a  flowing  bowl  of  punch,  when  the  captain  of  a 
New-England  trader  came  on  board  to  visit  them,  and  was 
invited  to  share  in  the  carouse.  What  follows  is  an  amusing 
trait  of  the  nautical  manners  of  the  place  and  time  : — 
"  Mr.  Hooker,  being  drank  to  by  Captain  Rawlins,  who 
pledged  Captain  Hudswell,  and  having  the  bowl  in  his 
hands,  said  that  he  was  under  an  oath  to  drink  but  three 
draughts  of  strong  liquor  in  one  day,  and  putting  the  bowl 
to  his  head  turned  it  off  at  one  draught,  and  so  making 
himself  drunk,  disappointed  our  expectations  till  we  made 
another  bowl.  I  think  it  might  contain  six  quarts." 

As  soon  as  he  was  discharged,  Dampier  returned  to  the 
Bay  of  Campeachy  to  try  his  fortunes  among  the  logwood- 
cutters.  Preparatory  to  this  voyaga  he  had  provided  him- 
self with  hatchets,  knives,  axes,  saws,  wedges,  the  sleeping- 
pavilion  necessary  for  defence  against  the  insects  in  this 
climate,  and  a  gun,  with  a  supply  of  powder  and  shot.  A 
power  of  attorney,  lodged  with  a  merchant  who  acted  as 
factor  for  the  logwood-cutters,  completed  his  arrangements. 

The  logwood  forest  in  which  the  men  laboured  who  were 
joined  by  Dampier  was  on  the  west  lagune  of  Trist  Island, 
in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy. 

The  first  wood-cutters  were  men  who  had  adopted  this 
occupation  when  bucaniering  was  overdone  from  the  num- 
ber of  competitors,  and  become  dangerous  from  prohibitory 
edicts.  They  originally  settled  near  the  forests  of  the  die- 
wood  at  Cape  Catoch.  When  these  were  exhausted  they 
had  removed  to  the  Isle  of  Trist ; — the  first  intimation  to 
the  Spaniards  of  their  arrival  on  a  new  point  being  the 
strokes  of  their  axes  on  the  trees,  or  the  report  of  their 
guns  in  the  woods  and  savannas.  These  wood-cutters 
were  divided  into  parties  of  from  three  to  ten  or  twelve. 
The  company  which  consented  to  receive  Dampier  as  a 
helper,  ignorant  as  he  still  was  of  their  employment,  con- 
sisted of  six  individuals,  who  had  a  cargo  of  logwood  of  a 
hundred  tons  already  felled  and  chipped,  and  ready  to  be 
brought  to  the  creek,  whence  it  was  to  be  shipped  for  New- 
England.  His  wages  were  to  be  the  price  of  a  ton  of  wood 
per  month. 

The  wood-cutters  had  constructed  their  cabins  close  by 
the  sides  of  the  creeks  of  the  east  and  west  lagune  s  of  Trist, 
S2 


210  CHARACTER   AND    HABITS 

for  the  enjoyment  of  the  refreshing  sea-breezes,  and  to  be 
as  near  the  diewood-groves  as  was  found  convenient.  As 
the  nearest  trees  gradually  fell  beneath  their  axes,  they  fre- 
quently, instead  of  abandoning  a  favourite  habitation,  re- 
paired to  the  scene  of  their  daily  labours  in  their  canoes. 
To  each  company  belonged  a  canoe,  pirogue,  or  large  boat, 
which  was  necessary  in  conveying  their  lading  to  the 
traders,  and  also  in  the  chase ;  for  they  hunted  cattle  by 
water  as  well  as  land,  for  this  purpose  driving  them  into 
narrow  creeks.  Their  cabins  were  of  fragile  construction, 
but  thickly  thatched  with  palm-leaves,  to  shelter  the  inmates 
from  the  violent  rains  of  the  wet  season.  Above  the  floor 
a  wooden  frame  was  raised  three  or  four  feet,  and  this  bar- 
becue^ with  the  pavilion  or  mosquito-curtains  stretched  and 
supported  over  it,  formed  the  sleeping-place  of  the  wood- 
cutters;  another,  equal  in  height,  covered  with  earth, 
fonned  the  domestic  hearth ;  and  a  third  served  as  seats. 

The  first  adventurers  who  frequented  the  bay,  after  the 
existence  and  the  value  of  the  diewood  in  this  tract  had 
been  accidentally  discovered  by  an  English  ship,  were  ac- 
tual Bucaniers,  "  who,  though  they  could  work  well  enough, 
yet  thought  it  a  dry  business  to  toil  at  cutting  wood." 
They  were,  moreover,  good  marksmen,  and  took  great  de- 
light in  hunting,  though  piracy 'was  still  their  favourite  pur- 
suit. Besides  plundering  on  the  seas,  they  often  sallied  out 
among  the  nearest  Indian  villages,  which  they  pillaged 
without  remorse,  carrying  off  the  Indian  women  to  serve  in 
bearing  wood  and  other  drudgery,  while  their  husbands 
were  sold  to  the  logwood  merchants  who  visited  the  bay, 
and  resold  at  Jamaica.  To  these  ruffians  the  cabins  of  the 
ships  which  came  to  minister  to  their  pleasures  and  neces- 
sities were  now  what  the  taverns  of  Port  Royal,  from  which 
they  were  banished,  had  been.  In  these  vessels  they  would 
gather  at  a  grand  drinking-match,  and  spend  30/.  or  40/.  at 
a  sitting,  carousing  and  firing  off  guns  for  three  or  four  da)Ts 
successively.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  prevailing 
character  of  the  wood-cutters  at  the  time  of  Dampier's  visit, 
the  small  company  to  which  he  was  attached  appear  to  have 
been  of  a  more  respectable  description  than  ordinary.  Two 
or  three  of  them  were  natives  of  Scotland,  \vho,  if  not  ac- 
tuated by  higher  motives,  were  restrained  from  falling  into 
the  extravagance  and  riot  of  their  companions  by  the  desire 


OF    THE    WOOD-CUTTERS.  211 

of  accumulating  money  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  enter 
upon  a  better  way  of  life. 

The  logwood-groves  were  near  the  sea, — this  wood  grow- 
ing and  thriving  best  in  low  wet  ground,  and  among  timber 
of  lower  growth.  The  trees  were  from  two  to  six  feet  in 
circumference.  They  resembled  the  white  thorn  of  Eng- 
land, save  in  size.  The  heart  of  the  trunk,  which  is  red,  is 
alone  used  as  a  diestuff,  the  spongy  outer  part  being 
chipped  away.  It  is  a  heavy  wood,  and  burns  well ;  and 
for  this  reason  the  hunters,  wood-cutters,  and  Bucaniers 
always,  when  it  could  be  obtained,  preferred  it  for  harden- 
ing the  steel  of  their  firearms.  Bloodwood,  another  die- 
stuff  much  esteemed,  was  found  in  the  Gulf  of  Nicaragua, 
and  sold  at  double  the  price  of  the  logwood, — the  latter  sell- 
ing at  15/.*  per  ton,  when  the  bloodwood  cost  30/. 

Through  five  days,  the  logwood-cutters,  while  the  indus- 
trious fit  was  upon  them,  plied  their  labours  in  the  groves, 
and  on  Saturday  hunted  in  the  savannas  as  a  recreation, 
and  also  to  store  their  larders  for  the  ensuing  week.f  When 
a  bullock  was  shot,  it  was  cut  up  where  it  lay,  divided  into 
quarters,  and  the  large  bones  taken  out,  when  each  man 
thrust  his  head  through  a  portion,  and  trudged  home.  If 
his  load  became  too  weighty,  part  was  cut  off  and  flung  to 
the  beasts  and  birds  of  prey  which  ever  prowled  and  hovered 
near  the  hunter.  But  this  mode  of  lightening  their  burdens 
was  rarely  resorted  to  from  necessity.  The  wood-cutters 
were  sturdy,  robust  fellows,  accustomed  to  carry  loads  of 
wood  of  from  three  to  four  hundred  weight ;  though  their 
burdens,  like  every  thing  else,  were  regulated  by  their  own 
pleasure  and  discretion.  During  the  rainy  season,  when 
the  logwood-grounds  were  flooded,  they  would  step  from 

*  Valuable  as  this  wood  was,  the  French  Bucaniers  who  captured 
Campeachy,  on  one  occasion,  displayed  their  enthusiastic  loyalty  by 
burning  42,OOOZ.  worth  in  celebrating  the  birthday  of  their  king,  or  the 
festival  of  St.  Louis. 

t  Dampier  says,  that  Saturday  was  employed  by  his  party  for  hunting ; 
but  his  predecessors  had  not  been  so  scrupulous  in  their  observance  of 
the  Sabbath.  Raynal  tells,  that  a  Bucanier,  when  one  of  his  helpers 
(engages,  or  indented  men)  expostulated  with  a  hunter  for  compelling 
him  to  work  on  Sunday,  saying,  God  had  forbidden  this  practice  when 
He  gave  the  commandment,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,  and  on  the 
seventh  rest." — "  And  I,"  replied  the  ruffian,  "  say  to  thee,  six  days  thou 
shalt  kill  bulls  and  flay  them,  and  on  the  seventh  day  thou  shalt  carry 
them  to  the  store." 


212        NATURAL    PRODUCTIONS    OF    THE    BAY. 

their  high  bed-frames  into  two  feet  of  water,  and  remain 
thus  all  day, — improving  this  cool  season  as  that  most 
favourable  to  a  goo/1  day's  work.  If  there  were  more  than 
four  about  the  killing  of  a  bullock,  while  two  or  three  dressed 
the  meat  the  others  went  in  search  of  more  game, — a  car- 
cass being  the  ordinary  weekly  allowance  of  four  persons. 

In  this  part  of  the  Bay  of  Campeachy  the  dry  season 
commences  in  September  and  continues  till  April  or  May, 
when  the  wet  weather  sets  in  with  fierce  tornadoes,  and 
continues  thus  till  June,  from  which  period  rain  falls  almost 
incessantly  till  the  end  of  August.  By  this  time  the  rivers 
have  risen,  and  the  savannas  and  all  the  low  grounds  are 
overflowed  ;  and  in  this  state  they  remain,  the  savannas 
appearing  like  inland  lakes  till  December  and  January, 
when  the  water  begins  visibly  to  drain  off,  and  by  the  mid- 
dle of  February  leaves  the  land  dry.  About  the  beginning 
of  April  the  pools  in  the  savannas  are  dried  up,  and  the 
whole  country  is  so  parched,  that,  but  for  a  beautiful  pro- 
vision of  nature,  tln>  human  beings  and  the  birds  and  beasts, 
so  lately  surrounded  with  water,  must  perish  of  thirst. 

During  the  fervid  consuming  heats  of  this  season  the 
wood-cutters  betook  themselves  to  the  forests  in  search  of 
the  wild  pine,  which  afforded  them  a  hearty  and  refreshing 
draught.  This  interesting  plant  is  minutely  described  by 
Dampier,  in  that  clear  and  succinct  manner  which  charac- 
terizes all  his  notices  of  natural  productions  : — "  The  wild 
pine,"  he  save,  "  is  a  plant  so  called  because  it  somewhat 
resembles  the  bush  that  bears  the  pine  ;  they  are  commonly 
supported,  or  grow  from  some  bunch,  knot,  or  excrescence 
of  the  tree,  where  they  take  root  and  grow  upright.  The 
root  is  short  and  thick,  from  wrhence  the  leaves  rise  up  in 
folds  one  within  another,  spreading  off  at  the  top.  They 
are  of  a  good  thick  substance,  and  about  ten  or  twelve  inches 
long.  The  outside  leaves  are  so  compact  as  to  contain  the 
rain-water  as  it  falls.  They  will  hold  a  pint  and  a  half,  or  a 
quart ;  and  this  water  refreshes  the  leaves  and  nourishes 
the  root.  When  we  find  these  pines,  we  stick  our  knives 
into  the  leaves  just  above  the  root,  and  that  lets  out  the 
water,  which  we  catch  in  our  hats,  as  I  have  done  many 
times  to  my  great  relief."  Dampier's  account  of  all  the 
natural  productions  of  this  country  is  equally  curious.  The 
animals,  besides  those  termed  domestic,  were  the  squash, 


MONKEYS.  213 

the  waree,  and  pecaree,  a  species  of  wild  hog,  the  opossum, 
tiger-cat,  monkeys,  ant-bears,  armadilloes,*  porcupines, 
land-turtle,  and  the  sloth,  besides  lizards,  snakes,  and  igua- 
nas of  many  varieties.  The  general  features  of  the  country 
in  this  part  of  the  bay  are,  the  land  near  the  sea  and  the 
lagunes,  always  wet  and  "  mangrovy."  A  little  way  back 
from  the  shore  the  soil  is  a  strong  yellow  clay,  with  a  thin 
surface  of  black  mould.  Here  logwood-trees  and  low- 
growing  timber  of  many  kinds  thrive.  As  it  recedes  farther 
from  the  sea  the  land  rises,  and  trees  of  taller  growth  are 
met  with,  till  the  forests  terminate  in  large  savannas  covered 
with  long  grass.  These  flats  or  natural  meadows  are  gene- 
rally three  miles  wide,  and  often  much  more.  The  soil  of 
the  savannas  is  black,  deep,  and  rich,  and  the  grass  luxuriant 
in  growth,  but  of  a  coarse  kind.  As  an  easy  mode  of  hus- 
bandry which  suited  them  well,  the  cattle-hunters  at  the 
close  of  the  dry  season  set  fire  to  the  grass  of  the  savannas, 
which,  immediately  after  the  setting  in  of  the  rains,  were 
covered  by  a  new  and  delicate  herbage.  These  plains  are 
bounded  by  high  ridges  and  declivities  of  the  richest  land, 
covered  with  stately  trees  ;  and  these  alternate  ridges  and 
flats,  fine  woodlands  and  grassy  plains,  stretch  from  ten  to 
twenty  miles  into  the  interior,  which  was  as  far  as  Dam- 
pier's  knowledge  extended. 

In  the  woods  monkeys  abound,  ranging  in  bands  of  from 
twenty  to  thirty,  leaping  from  tree  to  tree,  incessantly  chat- 
tering with  frightful  noise,  making  antic  gestures,  and 
throwing  sticks  and  other  missiles  at  the  passers-by.  When 
first  alone  in  the  woods  Dampier  felt  afraid  to  shoot  at  them. 
They  accompanied  him  on  his  ramble,  leaping  from  branch 
to  branch,  swinging  overhead  with  threatening  gestures, 
as  if  about  to  leap  upon  him,  and  only  took  leave  at  the 
wood-cutters'  huts.  Though  they  were  easily  shot,  it  was 
difficult  to  take  them,  as  after  being  wounded  they  pertina- 
ciously clung  to  the  high  branches  by  their  tails  or  claws 
while  life  remained.  "  I  have  pitied,"  says  our  navigator, 
"  the  poor  creature,  to  see  it  look  on  and  handle  the  wounded 

*  The  armadilloes,  of  which  many  species  are  now  ascertained,  belong 
to  the  genus  dasypus  of  naturalists.  They  are  entirely  confined  to  the 
New  World,  of  which  they  inhabit  chiefly  the  warmer  portions.  They 
are  animals  of  omnivorous  habits,  dwelling  in  woods,  and  preying  on 
insects,  eggs,  small  birds,  and  the  roots  of  plants. 


214        SLOTH,    GREEN-SNAKE,    SPIDERS,   ANTS. 

limb,  and  turn  it  about  from  side  to  side."  The  sloths  feed 
on  leaves,  and  are  very  destructive  to  trees,  never  forsaking 
one  on  which  they  have  pitched  till  it  is  stripped  as  bare  as 
winter.  A  sloth  requires  eight  or  nine  minutes  to  move 
one  of  its  feet  three  inches  forward,  and  it  can  neither  be 
provoked  nor  frightened  to  move  faster.  Of  some  of  the 
species  of  snakes,  Dampier  relates  that  they  lurk  in  trees, 
"  and  are  so  mighty  in  strength  as  to  hold  a  bullock  fast  by 
one  of  his  horns,"  if  it  comes  so  near  the  tree  as  to  allow  the 
snake  to  twist  itself  about  the  horn  and  a.  limb  of  the  tree 
at  the  same  time.  The  Bucaniers  sometimes  ate  them, 
though  Dampier  makes  no  favourable  report  of  this  kind  of 
food.  An  anecdote  which  he  relates  of  a  snake  in  the  bay 
gives  a  rational  account  of  what  is  termed  fascination  in 
birds.  The  green-snake,  which  is  from  four  to  five  feet 
long  and  no  thicker  than  a  man's  thumb,  lurked  among 
green  leaves,  from  which  it  could  hardly  be  distinguished, 
and  preyed  upon  small  birds.  Dampier  was  one  day  about 
to  take  hold  of  a  bird,  which,  to  his  astonishment,  though 
it  fluttered  and  cried,  did  not  attempt  to  fly  away.  He  dis- 
covered that  about  the  upper  part  of  the  poor  bird  a  green- 
snake  had  twisted  itself.  Spiders  of  prodigious  size*  were 
seen  here,  some  almost  as  big  as  a  man's  hand,  with  long 
small  legs  like  the  spiders  of  Europe: — "  They  have  two 
teeth,  or  rather  horns,  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  and  of 
a  proportionable  bigness,  which  are  black  as  jet,  smooth  as 
glass,  and  their  small  end  sharp  as  a  thorn."  These  the 
Bucaniers  and  wood-cutters  used  as  toothpicks,  as  they 
were  said  to  cure  toothache.  They  also  used  them  to  pick 
their  tobacco-pipes.  The  country  abounded  in  ants  of  dif- 
ferent species,  some  of  which  had  a  sting  "  sharp  as  a  spark 
of  fire."  They  build  their  habitations  between  the  limbs 
of  great  trees  ;  and  some  of  the  hillocks  wrere  "as  large  as 
a  hogshead."  In  this  manner  the  ants  provide  against  the 
consequences  of  the  rainy  season,  when  their  hillocks,  if  on 
the  ground,  must  be  overflowed.  One  species  marched  in 
troops,  always  in  haste,  as  if  in  search  of  something,  but 

*  The  Epeira  curvicauda,  described  by  M.  Vautier  (Annans  des 
Sciences  Naturelles,  torn.  i.  p.  261),  is  remarkable  for  the  posterior  en- 
largement of  its  abdomen,  which  is  terminated  by  a  couple  of  arched  and 
elongated  spines.— See  plate  50  of  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia 
flritannica. 


THE    HUMMING-BIRD   AND    SUBTLE  JACK.       215 

steadily  following  their  leaders  wherever  they  went.  Some- 
times a  band  of  these  ants  would  march  through  the  cabins 
of  the  wood-cutters,  over  their  beds,  or  into  their  chests, — 
wherever  the  foremost  went  the  rest  all  following.  The 
logwood-cutters  let  them  pass  on,  though  some  hours  might 
be  spent  in  the  march. 

Frequently  as  the  humming-bird  has  been  described  since 
it  was  seen  by  Dampier,  his  account  of  this,  the  most  deli- 
cate and  lovely  of  the  feathered  tribes,  is  as  fresh  and  beau- 
tiful as  when  the  young  seaman,  charmed  with  its  loveli- 
ness, first  entered  a  description  of  it  into  his  rude  journal : 
— "  The  humming-bird  is  a  pretty  little  feathered  creature, 
no  bigger  than  a  great  overgrown  wasp  ;  with  a  black  bill 
no  bigger  than  a  small  needle,  and  with  legs  and  feet  in 
proportion  to  his  body.  This  creature  does  not  wave  its 
wings  like  other  birds  when  it  flies,  but  keeps  them  in  a 
continued  quick  motion,  like  bees  or  other  insects  ;  and  like 
them  makes  a  continued  humming  noise  as  it  flies.  It  is 
very  quick  in  motion,  and  haunts  about  flowers  and  fruit 
like  a  bee  gathering  honey  ;  making  many  addresses  to  its 
delightful  objects,  by  visiting  them  on  all  sides,  and  yet  still 
keeps  in  motion,  sometimes  on  one  side  sometimes  on  the 
other,  as  often  rebounding  a  foot  or  two  back  on  a  sudden, 
and  as  quickly  returns  again,  keeping  thus  about  one  flower 
five  or  six  minutes  or  more." 

The  wood-cutters  and  hunters  in  their  out-door  and  syl- 
van life  became  familiar  with  all  the  living  creatures  of 
these  prolific  regions,  and  gave  them  English  names  signifi- 
cant of  their  habits.  They  adopted  the  superstition  of  the 
Spaniards  against  killing  the  carrion-crows,  which  were 
found  so  useful  in  clearing  the  country  of  the  putrid  car- 
casses of  animals.  Trains  of  these  birds  gathered  from 
all  quarters  about  the  hunters,  and  regularly  followed  them 
into  the  savannas  for  their  own  share  of  the  prey,  A  bird 
which  they  named  the  Subtle  Jack  was  about  as  big  as  the 
pigeons  of  the  bay.  It  suspended  its  nest  from  the  boughs 
of  lofty  trees,  choosing  such  as,  up  to  a  considerable  height, 
were  without  limbs.  The  branches  selected  were  those 
that  spread  widest ;  and  of  these  the  very  extremity  was 
chosen.  The  nests  hung  down  two  or  three  feet  from  the 
twigs  to  which  they  were  fastened,  and  looked  like  "  cab- 
bage-nets stuffed  with  hay."  The  thread  by  which  it  i* 


216  ALLIGATORS  OF  CAMPEACHY 

suspended,  like  the  nest  itself,  is  made  of  long  grass  inge- 
niously twisted  and  interwoven,  small  at  the  twig,  but 
thickening  as  it  approaches  the  nest.  On  trees  that  grow 
singly  and  apart  the  birds  build  all  round ;  but  where  the 
trees  stand  in  proximity  to  others,  the  Subtle  Jack  chooses 
only  those  that  border  upon  a  savanna,  pool,  or  creek  ;  and 
of  these  the  limbs  that  stretch  over  the  water  or  the  grass, 
avoiding  such  as  may  be  easily  approached  from  neighbour- 
ing trees.  The  nest  has  a  hole  at  the  side  for  the  bird  to 
enter  : — "  'Tis  pretty,"  says  Dampier,  "to  see  twenty  or 
thirty  of  them  hanging  round  a  tree."* 

In  these  savannas  and  primeval  forests  an  endless 
variety  of  birds  and  insects  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
young  seaman,  to  which  we  cannot  now  advert.  The 
creeks,  rivers,  and  lagunes,  as  well  as  the  open  shores,  were 
equally  prolific  of  fishes  unknown  in  the  English  waters. 
JVo  place  in  the  world  was  better  stored  with  alligators 
than  the  Bay  of  Campeachy.  These  the  Bucamers,  wno 
scrupled  at  no  sort  of  food,  never  ate,  save  in  cases  of  great 
:ty,  as  even  their  intrepid  stomachs  were  offended  by 
the  strong  musky  flavour  of  the  flesh  of  this  hideous  crea- 
ture. The  alligators  of  the  bay  were  generally  harmless 
when  not  molested  ;  though  accidents  sometimes  occurred, 
of  which  one  is  recorded  by  Dampier  that  merits  notice. 
In  the  height  of  the  dry  season,  when  in  those  torrid 
regions  all  animated  nature  pants  with  consuming  thirst,  a 
party  of  the  wood-cutters,  English  and  Irish,  went  to  hunt 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  lake  called  Pies  Pond,  in  Beef 

*  It  is  sometimes  by  no  means  easy  ta  connect  the  observations  of 
the  sailor  abroad  with  the  lucubrations  of  the  man  of  science  at  home; 
and  cadi  perhaps  regards  the  designations  of  the  other  as  barbarous. 
There  is,  however,  frequently  more  meaning  in  the  names  bestowed  by 
the  practical  observer  than  in  those  of  the  doset-natnralrst.  The  chief 
objection  to  popular  names  is,  that  they  too  often  proceed  npon  mere 
analogies  in  habits,  rather  than  on  identity  of  specific  forms.  Thus  the 
carrion-crow,  frequently  mentioned  by  Dampier  and  other  voyagers 
along  the  American  shores,  is  not  a  crow  but  a  species  of  vwUure.  In 
regard  to  the  Subtle  Jack,  there  are  several  species  of  birds  which  con- 
struct their  nests  in  the  ingenious  and  elaborate  manner  »br- 
tioned.  Of  these  one  of  the  most  noted  is  the  Hang-nest-oriole  (Orio- 
"fuduluit  of  Latham),  described  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane  in  nis  His- 
tory of  Jamaica.  It  builds  in  woods,  and  forms  its  nest  of  the  internal 

•  a  parasitic  plant,  popularly  known  in  the  West  Indi 

•  Id,  man's  beard.    The  nest  is  suspended  from  the  extreme  twigs 
of  the  tree. 


ADVENTURE  WITH  AN  ALLIGATOR.  217 

Island,  one  of  the  smaller  islands  of  the  bay.  To  this 
pond  the  wild  cattle  repaired  in  herds  to  drink,  and  here  the 
hunters  lay  in  wait  for  them.  The  chase  had  been  prose- 
cuted with  great  success  for  a  week,  when  an  Irishman  of 
the  party,  going  into  the  water  during  the  day,  stumbled 
upon  an  alligator,  which  seized  him  by  the  knee.  IJis  cries 
alarmed  his  companions,  who,  fearing  that  he  had  been 
seized  by  the  Spaniards,  to  whom  the  island  belonged,  and 
who  chose  the  dry  season  to  hunt,  and  repel  their  unwel- 
come neighbours,  instead  of  affording  assistance,  fled  from 
the  huts  which  they  had  erected.  The  Irishman,  seeing  no 
appearance  of  help,  with  happy  presence  of  mind  quietly 
waited  till  the  alligator  loosened  its  teeth  to  take  ;i  w\v  :»ml 
surer  hold  ;  and  when  it  did  so,  snatched  away  his  knee, 
interposing  the  butt-end  of  his  gun  in  its  stead,  which  tho 
animal  seized  so  firmly  that  it  was  jerked  out  of  the  man's 
hand  and  carried  off.  He  then  crawled  up  a  neighbouring 
tree,  again  shouting  after  his  comrades,  who  now  found 
courage  to  return.  His  gun  was  found  next  day,  dragged 
ten  or  twelve  paces  from  the  place  where  it  had  been  seized 
by  the  alligator. 

At  the  same  place,  Pies  Pond  in  Beef  Island,  Dampier 
had  a  remarkable  escape  from  an  alligator.  Passing  with 
some  of  his  comrades  through  a  small  savanna,  where  the 
water  lay  two  or  three  feet  deep,  in  search  of  a  bullock  to 
shoot  for  supper,  a  strong  scent  of  an  alligator  was  per- 
ceived, and  presently  Dampier  stumbled  over  one  and  fell 
down.  He  cried  out  for  help,  but  his  companions  ran  to- 
wards  the  woods  to  save  themselves.  No  sooner  had  he 
scrambled  up  to  follow  them,  than  in  the  agitation  of  the 
moment  he  fell  a  second  and  even  a  third  time,  expecting 
every  instant  to  be  devoured,  and  yet  escaped  untouched  ; 
but  he  candidly  says,  "  I  was  so  frighted,  that  I  never  cared 
to  go  through  the  water  again  as  long  as  I  was  in  the 
Bay." 

On  the  first  Saturday  after  he  commenced  wood-cutter, 
Dampier  followed  his  employers  in  the  humble  capacity  of 
raising  and  driving  the  cattle  out  of  the  savannas  into  the 
woods,  where  the  hunters  lay  in  wait  to  shoot  them.  The 
following  Saturday  his  ambition  took  a  higher  flight.  He 
thought  it  more  honourable  to  have  a  shot  himself  than  to 
drive  the  game  for  others  ;  and,  after  going  five  milea  by 
T 


218  DAMPIER'S  ADVENTURE 

water  and  one  by  land,  to  the  hunting-ground,  he  gave  his 
companions  the  slip,  and  rambled  so  far  into  the  woods  that 
he  lost  himself,  going  at  every  step  farther  astray  through 
small  strips  of  savanna  and  skirts  of  woodland — a  maze 
of  plain  and  forest  which  seemed  interminable.  The  rest 
of  this  youthful  adventure,  from  which  Dampier  drew  a 
beneficial  lesson  for  the  regulation  of  his  future  life,  can- 
not be  better  narrated  than  in  his  own  words.  "  This  was 
in  May  (the  dry  season),  and  it  was  between  ten  o'clock 
and  one  when  I  began  to  find  that  I  was,  as  we  call  it, 
marooned,  or  lost,  and  quite  out  of  the  hearing  of  my 
comrades'  guns.  I  was  somewhat  surprised  at  this  ;  but, 
however,  I  knew  that  I  should  find  my  way  out  as  soon  as 
the  sun  was  a  little  lower.  So  I  sat  down  to  rest  myself, 
resolving,  however,  to  run  no  farther  out  of  my  way, 
for  the  sun  being  so  near  the  zenith  I  could  not  distinguish 
how  to  direct  my  course.  Beiivj  wrary,  and  almost  faint 
for  want  of  water,  I  was  forced  to  have  recourse  to  the  wild 
pines,  and  was  by  them  supplied,  or  else  I  must  have 
perished  with  thirst.  About  three  o'clock  I  went  due 
north,  or  as  near  as  I  could  jud^e,  for  the  savanna  lay  east 
and  west,  and  I  was  on  the  south  side  of  it. 

"At  sunset  I  got  out  into  the  clear  open  savanna,  being 
about  two  leagues  wide  in  most  places,  but  how  lonii  I 
know  not.  It  is  well  stored  with  bullocks,  but  by  frequent 
hunting  they  grow  shy,  and  remove  farther  up  into  the 
country.  There  I  found  myself  four  or  five  miles  to  the 
west  of  the  place  where  I  had  straggled  from  my  compan- 
ions. I  made  homeward  with  all  the  speed  I  could ;  but 
being  overtaken  by  the  night,  I  lay  down  on  the  grass  a 
good  distance  from  the  woods,  for  the  benefit  of  the  wind 
to  keep  the  mosquitoes  from  me ;  but  in  vain,  for  in  less 
than  an  hour's  time  I  was  so  persecuted,  that  though  I  en- 
deavoured to  keep  them  oft*  by  fanning  myself  with  boughs, 
and  shifting  my  quarters  three  or  four  times,  yet  still  they  so 
haunted  me  that  I  could  get  no  sleep.  At  daybreak  I  got 
up  and  directed  my  course  to  the  creek  where  we  landed, 
from  which  I  was  then  about  two  leagues.  I  did  not  see 
one  beast  of  any  sort  whatever  in  all  the  way,  though  the 
day  before  I  saw  several  young  calves  that  could  not  follow 
their  dams ;  but  even  these  were  now  gone  away,  to  my 
great  vexation  and  disappointment,  for  I  was  very  hungry. 


IN  THE  FORESTS.  219 

But,  about  a  mile  farther,  I  espied  ten  or  twelve  quaums* 
perching  on  the  boughs  of  a  cotton-tree.  These  were  not 
shy :  therefore  I  got  well  under  them,  and  having  a  single 
bullet,  but  no  shot,  about  me,  fired  at  one  of  them  and  missed 
it,  though  I  had  often  before  killed  them  so.  Then  I  came 
up  with  and  fired  at  five  or  six  turkeys  with  no  better  suc- 
cess, so  that  I  was  forced  to  march  forward,  still  in  the 
savanna,  towards  the  creek  ;  and  when  I  came  to  the  path 
that  led  to  it  through  the  woods,  I  found  to  my  great  joy  a 
hat  stuck  upon  a  pole,  and  when  I  came  to  the  creek  an- 
other. These  were  set  up  by  my  consorts,  who  had  gone 
home  in  the  evening,  as  signals  that  they  would  come  and 
fetch  me.  Therefore  I  sat  down  and  waited  for  them  ;  for 
although  I  had  not  above  three  leagues  home  by  water,  yet 
it  would  have  been  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  me 
to  have  got  thither  overland,  by  reason  of  those  vast  im- 
passable thickets  abounding  everywhere  along  the  creek's 
side,  wherein  I  have  known  some  puzzled  for  two  or  three 
days,  and  have  not  advanced  half  a  mile,  although  they 
laboured  extremely  every  day.  Neither  was  I  disappointed 
of  my  hopes,  for  within  half  an  hour  after  my  arrival  in 
the  creek  my  consorts  came,  bringing  every  man  his  bottle 
of  water  and  his  gun,  both  to  hunt  for  game  and  to  give  me 
notice  by  firing,  that  I  might  hear  them ;  for  I  have  known 
several  men  lost  in  the  like  manner,  and  never  heard  of 
afterward." 

Dampier  had  the  more  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on 
the  issue  of  this  adventure,  that  shortly  before  the  captain 
and  six  of  the  crew  of  a  Boston  ship  had  wandered  into 
the  woods,  part  of  whom  were  never  again  heard  of.  The 
captain,  who  was  found  in  a  thicket  in  a  state  of  extreme 
exhaustion,  stated  that  his  men  had  dropped  one  by  one, 
fainting  for  thirst  in  the  parched  savannas. 

When  his  first  month's  service  was  ended,  Dampier  re- 
ceived as  pay  the  price  of  a  ton  of  wood,  with  which  he 
bought  provisions,  and  entered  into  a  new  engagement,  on 
the  footing  of  comradeship,  but  with  other  partners.  Of 
the  former  company  to  which  he  had  been  attached,  some 

*  The  quaum,  quan,  or  guan,  is  a  species  of  the  genus  Penelope.  It 
is  frequently  domesticated  in  Brazil  for  the  sake  of  the  flesh,  which  is 
excellent  eating.  Another  species  of  the  genus  (Penelope  pipile  of 
Temminck)  is  known  under  the  name  of  the  Yacou  Turkey. 


220  FORMS  A  NEW  ENGAGEMENT. 

went  to  Beef  Island  to  hunt  bullocks  for  their  skins,  which 
they  prepared  for  sale  by  pegging  them  strongly  down  to 
the  ground,  turning  first  the  fleshy  and  then  the  hairy  side 
uppermost,  till  they  were  perfectly  dry.  It  required  thirty- 
two  pegs,  each  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm,  to  stretch  one  hide  ; 
afterward  they  were  hung  in  heaps  upon  a  pole,  that  they 
might  not  touch  the  ground,  and  from  time  to  time  well 
beat  with  sticks  to  drive  out  the  worms  which  bred  in  the 
skins  and  spoiled  them.  Before  being  shipped  off,  they 
were  soaked  in  salt  water  to  kill  the  remaining  worms. 
While  still  wet  they  were  folded  up,  left  thus  for  a  time, 
and  once  more  thoroughly  dried  and  packed  for  exporta- 
tion. 

To  this  trade  Dampier  preferred  wood-cutting.  His  part- 
ners were  three  Scotchmen,  Price  Morrice,  Duncan  Camp- 
bell, and  a  third,  who  is  called  by  his  Christian-name  of 
George  only.  The  two  latter  were  persons  of  education, 
who  had  been  bred  merchants,  and  liked  neither  the  em- 
ployment nor  the  society  of  the  bay  ;  they  therefore  only 
waited  the  first  opportunity  of  getting  away  by  a  logwood- 
ship.  The  first  vessel  that  arrived  was  from  Boston,  and 
this  they  freighted  with  forty  tons  of  diewood,  which  it  was 
agreed  Duncan  Campbell  should  go  to  New-England  to 
sell,  bringing  back  flour  and  other  things  suited  to  the  mar- 
ket of  the  bay,  to  exchange  for  hides  and  logwood  ;  while 
George  remained  making  up  a  fresh  cargo  against  Camp- 
bell's return.  And  here  Dampier  makes  an  observation  on 
the  character  of  his  associates  which  deserves  to  be  noticed 
as  the  result  of  the  experience  of  a  man  who  had  seen  and 
reflected  much  upon  life  and  manners.  "  This,"  he  says, 
"  retarded  our  business,  for  I  did  not  find  Price  Morrice 
very  intent  on  work  ;  for  'tis  like  he  thought  he  had  log- 
wood enough.  And  I  have  particularly  observed  there,  and 
in  other  places,  that  such  as  had  been  well-bred  were  gene- 
rally most  careful  to  improve  their  time,  and  would  be  very 
industrious  and  frugal  when  there  was  any  probability  of 
considerable  gain.  But,  on  the  contrary,  such  as  had  been 
inured  to  hard  labour,  and  got  their  living  by  the  sweat  of 
their  brows,  when  they  came  to  have  plenty,  would  extrava- 
gantly squander  away  their  time  and  money  in  drinking 
and  making  a  bluster." 

To  make  up  for  the  indolence  of  his  comrade  Dampier 


TREMENDOUS  HURRICANE.  221 

kept  the  closer  to  work  himself,  till  attacked  by  a  very  sin- 
gular disease.  A  red  and  ill-conditioned  swelling  or  bile 
broke  out  upon  his  right  leg,  which  he  was  directed  to 
poultice  with  the  roasted  roots  of  the  white  lily.  This  he 
persisted  in  doing  for  some  days,  "  when  two  white  specks 
appeared  in  the  centre  of  the  bile,  and  on  squeezing  it  two 
small  white  worms  spurted  out,  about  the  thickness  of  a 
hen's  quill,  and  three  or  four  inches  long."*  These  were 
quite  different  from  the  Guinea- worm,  common  in  some  of 
the  West  India  islands,  and  in  the  time  of  Dampier  very 
common  in  Cura9ao.  From  these  last  he  afterward  suf- 
fered severely. 

Shortly  after  his  recovery  from  this  attack  the  bay  was 
visited  by  one  of  those  tremendous  hurricanes  known  only 
in  tropical  countries,  which  raged  for  twenty-four  hours 
without  intermission.  This  was  in  June,  1676.  Two 
days  before  the  storm  came  on  the  wind  "  whiffled"  about 
to  the  south  and  back  again  to  the  east,  but  blew  faintly, 
while  the  weather  continued  very  fair,  though  it  was  re- 
marked that  the  men-of-war  birds  came  trooping  towards 
the  shore  in  great  numbers,  and  hovered  over  the  land. 
The  hunters  and  logwood-cutters,  among  their  numerous 
superstitions,  augured  the  arrival  of  ships  from  the  appear- 
ance of  those  birds,  and  imagined  that  as  many  birds  as 
hovered  over-head  so  many  vessels  might  be  expected. 
At  this  time  there  appeared  whole  flocks. 

It  was  noticed  by  Dampier,  that  for  two  days  the  tide 
kept  ebbing,  till  the  creek  by  which  the  woodmen's  huts 
stood  was  left  nearly  dry.  In  it  there  was  commonly  at 
ebb-tide  seven  or  eight  feet  of  water,  but  now  scarcely 
three  remained  even  in  the  deepest  places.  At  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  following  this  strange  ebbing  of  the 
waters,  the  sky  looked  very  black,  the  wind  sprung  up  at 
S.  E.,  fresh  and  rapidly  increasing,  and  in  less  than  two 
hours  blew  down  all  the  cabins  of  the  woodmen  save  one  : 
this  they  propped  with  posts,  and,  as  it  were,  anchored  by 

*  The  worms  above  mentioned,  distinguished  by  their  comparative 
shortness  and  thickness  from  the  more  slender  Guinea-worm,  were 
probably  the  larva  of  a  species  of  gadfly,  which  has  been  named  tEstrus 
hominis,  on  account  of  its  occasionally  depositing  its  eggs  on  the  skin 
of  the  human  race.  See  an  account  of  a  similar  species  in  a  late  num- 
ber of  the  Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Journal. 


222         EFFECTS  OF  THE  STORM. 

casting  ropes  over  the  roof,  which  were  then  made  fast  on 
both  sides  to  stumps  of  trees.  In  this  frail  shed  they  all 
huddled  together  while  the  hurricane  raged  abroad."  It 
rained  in  torrents  during  the  whole  period  of  the  tempest  ; 
and  in  two  hours  after  the  wind  had  risen  the  water  flowed 
BO  fast  into  the  creek  that  it  was  as  high  as  the  banks. 
Though  the  wind  now  blew  off  shore,  the  waters  continued 
to  rush  in,  nor  did  the  rain  abate  ;  and  by  ten  o'clock  next 
morning  the  banks  of  the  creek  were  overflowed. 

The  situation  of  the  woodmen  now  became  perilous. 
They  brought  their  canoe  to  the  side  of  the  hut,  and 
fastened  it  to  the  stump  of  a  tree  as  a  means  of  escape  ; 
this  being  their  only  hope  of  safety,  as  beyond  the  banks 
which  edged  the  creek  the  land  fell,  and  there  "  was  now 
lio  walking  through  the  woods  because  of  the  water. 
Besides,  the  trees  were  torn  up  by  the  roots,  and  tumbled 
down  so  strangely  across  each  other  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  pass  through  them."  In  this  violent  tempest 
many  fish  were  either  cast  alive  upon  the  shore  or  found 
floating  dead  in  the  lagunes.  It  was  remarkable  that  the 
hurricane,  as  was  afterward  ascertained,  did  not  extend 
ninety  miles  to  windward. 

Of  four  ships  riding  at  anchor  at  One-Bush-Key,  three 
Were  driven  from  their  moorings,  and  one  of  them  was 
carried  up  into  the  woods  of  Beef  Island. 

The  wood-cutters  suffered  in  many  ways.  The  whole 
country  was  laid  under  water  to  a  considerable  depth,  there 
being  three  feet  even  on  the  highest  land  ;  so  that  they 
could  not  for  some  time  prosecute  their  labours.  Much 
of  their  provision  was  destroyed,  and  what  remained  they 
had  no  way  of  cooking  save  in  their  canoes. 

As  soon  as  the  storm  abated,  Dampier's  company  em- 
barked in  the  canoe  and  made  for  One-Bush-Key,  about 
four  leagues  distant,  hoping  to  procure  assistance  from  the 
ships  there.  These,  as  has  been  noticed,  had  all  been 
driven  from  their  anchors  save  one  ;  and  the  kindness  of 
the  crew  of  this  fortunate  vessel  had  already  been  severely 
taxed  by  an  influx  of  the  flooded  wood-cutters  from  dif- 
ferent points.  Dampier  and  his  companions  could  get 
u  neither  bread  nor  punch,  nor  so  much  as  a  dram  of  rum, 
though  they  offered  to  pay  for  it."  From  this  inhospita- 
ble quarter  they  rowed  for  Beef  Island,  their  singular  land- 


WANDERING    INDIANS.  223 

mark  being  the  flag  of  a  ship  displayed  in  the  woods.  The 
vessel  herself  was  found  two  hundred  yards  from  the  sea, 
from  which  she  had  cut  her  way  in  the  storm,  levelling  the 
trees  on  each  side,  and  making  a  clear  path  before  her 
through  the  forest.  In  this  transit  the  stumps  had  gone 
through  her  bottom,  and  there  was  no  way  of  saving  her. 
Meanwhile  she  held  together,  and  the  forlorn  woodmen 
were  well  entertained  with  victuals  and  punch,  and  invited 
to  remain  for  the  night ;  but,  hearing  a  signal-gun  fired 
from  a  distant  lagune,  they  concluded  that  one  of  the  ships 
was  driven  in  there  by  distress,  and  rowed  off  to  her  assist- 
ance. With  a  Captain  Chandler,  whom  they  found  here 
greatly  in  want  of  their  services,  Dampicr  and  his  partners 
laboured  for  two  days,  and  then  went  to  Beef  Island  to 
hunt  for  cattle.  This  island  is  about  seven  leagues  long, 
and  in  breadth  from  three  to  four  :  at  the  east  end  "  low 
drowned  land :"  the  middle  is  one  large  savanna,  bor- 
dered with  trees  ;  the  south  side,  between  the  savannas 
and  the  mangrove-belt  or  swampy  ground,  is  very  rich. 

But  the  social  condition  of  Beef  Island,  at  the  time  speci- 
fied, is  more  an  object  of  interest  than  its  natural  pro* 
ductions.  It  had  been  lately  settled  by  a  colony  of  In- 
dians : — "  It  is  no  new  thing,"  says  Dampier,  "  for  the 
Indians  of  these  woody  parts  of  America  to  fly  away,  whole 
towns  at  once,  and  settle  themselves  in  the  unfrequented 
woods  to  enjoy  their  freedom  ;  and  if  they  are  accidentally 
discovered  they  will  remove  again  ;  which  they  can  easily 
do,  their  household-goods  being  little  else  but  their  ham- 
mocks and  their  calabashes.  They  build  every  man  his 
own  house,  and  tie  up  their  hammocks  between  two  trees, 
wherein  they  sleep  till  their  houses  are  made.  The 
woods  afford  them  some  subsistence,  such  as  pecaree  and 
waree ;  but  they  that  are  thus  strolling,  or  marooning  as 
the  Spaniards  call  it,  have  plantain-walks  that  no  man 
knows  but  themselves,  and  from  thence  have  their  food 
till  they  have  raised  plantation-provision  near  their  new- 
built  town.  They  clear  no  more  ground  than  what  they 
actually  employ  for  their  subsistence.  They  make  no 
paths  ;  but  when  they  go  far  from  home  they  break  now 
and  then  a  bough,  letting  it  hang  down,  which  serves  as  a 
mark  to  guide  them  in  their  return.  If  they  happen  to  be 
discovered  by  other  Indians  inhabiting  among  the  Span- 


224        THEIR  CHARACTER  AND  MODE  OF  LIFE. 

iards,  or  do  but  distrust  it,  they  immediately  shift  their 
quarters  to  another  place,  this  large  country  affording  them 
good  fat  land  enough,  and  very  woody,  and  therefore  a 
proper  sanctuary  for  thrm. 

It  was  some  of  these  fugitive  Indians  that  came  to  settle 
at  Beef  Island,  where,  besides  gaining  their  freedom  from 
the  Spaniards,  they  might  see  their  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances that  had  been  taKen  some  time  before  by  the  priva- 
teers and  sold  to  the  logwood-cutters,  with  whom  some  of 
the  women  lived  still,  though  others  had  been  conducted  by 
them  to  their  own  habitations.  It  was  these  women,  after 
their  return,  that  made  known  the  kind  entertainment  they 
met  with  from  the  English,  and  persuaded  their  friends  to 
leave  their  dwellings  near  the  Spaniards  and  settle  on  this 
island.  They  had  been  here  almost  a  year  before  they 
were  discovered  by  the  English,  and  even  then  were  acci- 
dentally found  out  by  the  hunters  as  they  followed  their 
game : — "  They  were  not  very  shy  all  the  time  I  was 
there,"  continues  Dampier  ;  "but  I  know  that  upon  the 
least  disgust  tnev  would  have  been  gone."  This  avoid- 
ance of  their  "kind  entertainers,"  the  English,  does  not 
look  as  if  the  Indians  had  been  peculiarly  anxious  to  culti- 
vate their  further  acquaintance.  The  poor  Indians  were 
undoubtedly  equally  anxious  to  conceal  themselves  and 
their  plantations  from  the  Spaniards,  from  whom  they  fled, 
and  the  English  hunters  and  logwood-cutters,  whom  they 
shunned. 

John  d'Acosta,  a  Spaniard  of  the  town  of  Campeachy, 
who  held  a  grant  of  this  island,  managed  better  than  any 
of  his  countrymen  in  securing  his  property  from  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Bucaniers.  In  the  dry  season  he  spent 
usually  a  couple  of  months  here  with  his  servants,  "  hocks- 
ing"  cattle  for  their  hides  and  tallow.  Beef  was  to  him 
of  course  of  small  value ;  and  happening  at  one  time  to 
encounter  the  logwood-men  hunting  in  his  savannas,  he 
requested  them  to  desist,  saying  that  firing  made  the  cattle 
wild  ;  but  that  if  they  wanted  beef  he  would  supply  them 
with  as  much  as  they  pleased  by  hocksing.  They  accepted 
the  offer,  and  acted  with  honour  to  John  d'Acosta,  who 
soon  became  very  popular  among  them,  though  their  friend- 
ship did  him  no  good  with  his  own  countrymen.  He  was 
thrown  into  prison  upon  suspicion  of  conniving  with  the 


SPANISH    MODE    OF    HUNTING.  225 

Bucaniers,  and  forfeited  his  right  to  Beef  Island,  which 
henceforth  the  Spaniards  abandoned  to  the  English  hunters 
and  freebooters. 

The  manner  of  hunting  wild  cattle,  termed  hocksing  or 
houghing,  was  peculiar  to  the  Spaniards,  the  English 
always  using  firearms  in  the  chase.  The  Spanish  hockscrs, 
in  the  course  of  many  years'  practice,  became  dexterous  at 
their  art.  They  were  always  mounted  on  good  horses, 
which  were  as  diligently  and  early  trained  to  the  sport  as 
the  rider,  and  as  well  aware  when  to  advance  and  retreat 
with  advantage.  The  hunter  was  armed  with  a  hocksing* 
iron  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent,  about  seven  inches  in 
length,  and  having  a  very  sharp  edge.  This  was  fastened 
to  a  pole  about  fourteen  feet  in  length,  which  the  hunter 
laid  over  the  horse's  head,  the  instrument  projecting  for- 
ward. Riding  up  to  his  prey,  with  this  he  strikes,  ai 
dom  fails  to  hamstring  it,  when  the  horse  instantly  wheels 
to  the  left  to  avoid  the  attack  of  the  wounded  animal.  If 
the  stroke  has  not  quite  severed  all  the  sinews,  the  animal 
soon  breaks  them  himself  by  continually  attempting  to  leap 
forward.  While  limping  thus,  and  somewhat  exhausted,  the 
hunter  rides  up  to  him  again,  and  at  this  time  attacks  him 
in  front,  striking  the  iron  into  the  knee  of  one  of  his  fore-legs. 
The  animal  usually  drops,  when  the  hunter  dismounts,  and 
with  a  sharp-pointed  knife  strikes  into  the  head  a  little 
behind  the  horns  so  dexterously,  that  at  one  stroke  the 
head  drops  as  if  severed  from  the  neck,  and  the  poor  beast 
is  dead.  The  hunter  remounts  and  pursues  other  game, 
while  the  skinners  take  off  the  hide. 

The  English  hunters  had  so  greatly  thinned  the  numbers 
of  wild  cattle  on  Beef  Island  that  it  was  now  dangerous  for 
a  single  man  to  hunt  them,  or  to  venture  through  the  sa- 
vannas, so  desperate  and  vicious  had  they  become.  An 
old  bull  once  shot  at  never  failed  to  remember  the  attack 
and  to  offer  battle  ;  and  the  whole  herd  sometimes  drew  up 
in  array  to  defend  themselves.  The  account  which  Dam- 
pier  gives  of  the  tactics  of  the  wild  cattle  almost  borders 
upon  the  marvellous,  though  he  is  one  of  the  most  veracious 
and  unpretending  of  travellers,  rather  diminishing  than  ex- 
aggerating the  dangers  he  had  passed  and  the  wonders  he 
had  seen.  The  old  bulls  led  the  van,  behind  them  were 
ranged  the  cows,  and  next  in  order  the  young  cattle. 


226  DAMPIER   JOINS    THE    BUCAN1ERS. 

Wherever  the  hunters  attempted  to  break  the  line  the  bulls 
opposed  their  embattled  front,  wheeling  round  in  every  di- 
rection to  fare  the  enemy.  The  aim  of  the  hunter  was 
therefore  rather  an  animal  detached  from  the  herd  than  a 
general  or  open  attack.  If  the  prey  was  desperately 
wounded,  in  its  rage  it  made  for  the  hunter ;  but  if  only 
slightly,  it  scampered  off.  These  assaults  of  the  infuriated 
animals  were  sometimes  attended  by  fatal  accidents. 

The  hurricane  had  deprived  Dampier  of  his  slender  stock 
of  provisions  ;  and  having  neither  money  nor  credit  to  ob- 
tain a  fresh  supply  from  the  traders  who  arrived  from  Ja- 
maica, he  was  forced  for  immediate  subsistence  to  join  a 
company  of  "  privateers"  then  in  the  bay.  With  these 
Bucaniers  he  continued  for  nearly  a  year,  rambling  about 
the  Bay  of  Campeachy,  visiting  its  numerous  creeks,  islands, 
and  rivers,  and  making  with  them  frequent  descents  upon 
Indian  villages  and  Spanish  settlements.  At  these  places 
they  obtained  supplies  of  Indian  corn,  which,  with  the  beef 
for  which  they  hunted,  turtle,  and  manatee,  formed  their 
principal  subsistence  ;  Dampier  in  every  passing  hour  add- 
ing to  his  stores  of  knowledge. 

The  manatee,  or  sea-cow,  as  seen  by  Dampier  in  the  Bay 
of  Campeachy,  the  river  Darien,  at  Mindanao,  and  on  the 
coast  of  New-Holland,  he  describes  as  of  the  thickness  of  a 
horse,  and  in  length  ten  or  twelve  feet.  The  mouth  is  like 
that  of  a  cow,  the  lips  are  very  thick,  the  eyes  no  bigger 
than  a  pea,  and  the  ears  two  small  holes.  It  frequents 
creeks,  inlets,  and  mouths  of  rivers,  and  never  leaves  the 
water  for  any  length  of  time.  It  lives  on  a  sort  of  grass 
which  grows  in  the  sea.  The  flesh  is  white,  sweet,  and 
wholesome.  The  tail  of  a  young  cow  was  esteemed  a  deli- 
cate morsel  by  the  Bucaniers,  and  so  was  a  sucking-calf, 
which  they  cooked  by  roasting.  The  tough,  thick  skin  of 
the  manatee*  they  applied  to  various  uses. 

*  The  manatee  (manatus  Am  eric,  amis)  is  a  cetaceous  animal,  belong- 
ing to  the  herbiverons  division  of  that  order.  They  live  in  troops.  The 
male  is  said  to  be  remarkable  for  his  attachment  to  the  female,  and  the 
latter  is  characterized  by  the  strength  of  her  aflection  for  her  young,  which 
she  supports  by  means  of  her  swirnming-paws  for  some  days  after  their 
birth.  The  genus  inhabits  the  mouths  of  the  great  rivers  of  the  western 
shores  of  Africa,  as  well  as  those  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  New  World. 
The  species  alluded  to  in  the  text  has  now  become  much  more  rare  in 
places  of  frequent  resort  than  it  appears  to  have  been  in  former  times. 
The  females  of  one  or  other  of  the  species,  in  common  with  the  In-lian 


THE  MANATEE  AND  MOUNTAIN-COW.    227 

The  Mosquito  Indians  were  peculiarly  dexterous  in  fish- 
ing, and  also  in  striking  manatee  and  catching  turtle  ;  for 
which  purpose  the  Bucaniers  always  tried  to  have  one  or 
two  natives  of  the  Mosquito  Shore  attached  to  their  com- 
pany as  purveyors  on  their  cruises. 

In  the  river  of  Tobasco,  near  its  mouth,  ahundance  of 
manatee  was  found,  there  being  good  feeding  for  them  in  the 
creeks.  In  one  creek,  which  ran  into  the  land  for  two  or 
three  hundred  paces,  and  where  the  water  was  so  shallow 
that  the  backs  of  the  animals  were  seen  as  they  fed,  they 
were  found  in  great  numbers.  On  the  least  noise  they 
dashed  out  into  the  deep  water  of  the  river.  There  was  also 
a  fresh-water  species  resembling  those  of  the  sea,  but  not  so 
large.  The  banks  of  the  creek  which  they  frequented  were 
swampy  and  overgrown  with  trees ;  and  the  same  place 
afforded  great  abundance  of  land-turtle,  the  largest  Dam- 
pier  ever  saw  save  at  the  Gallapagos  Islands,  in  the  South 
Sea, — the  very  head-quarters  of  turtle.  On  the  borders  of 
the  Tobasco  lie  ridges  of  dry,  rich  land,  covered  with  lofty 
"  cotton  and  cabbage-trees,  which  make  a  pleasant  land- 
scape," and  in  some  places  guava-trees,  bearing  large  and 
finely-flavoured  fruit ;  there  were  also  cocoa-plums  and 
grapes.  The  savannas,  on  wbich  herds  of  deer  and  bul- 
locks were  seen  feeding,  especially  in  the  mornings  and 
evenings,  were  fenced  with  natural  groves  of  the  guava. 
Dampier  appears  to  have  been  delighted  with  the  aspect  of 
this  "  delicious  place."  While  he  was  here,  a  party  hunt- 
ing in  the  savannas  late  in  the  evening  shot  a  deer ;  one 
of  them,  while  skinning  the  animal,  was  shot  dead  by  a  com- 
rade, who  in  the  twilight  mistook  him  for  another  deer. 

dugong,  are  supposed,  from  the  peculiarity  of  their  appearance  in  the 
water,  to  have  given  rise  to  the  stories  of  mermaids,  syrens,  and  other 
imaginary  monsters. 

The  mountain-cow  of  Dampier  and  the  earlier  voyagers,  which  from 
being  occasionally  seen  in  the  water  they  sometimes  confounded  with 
the  manatee,  is  a  species  of  tapir  (tapirus  .Ammca/ras),  and  has  no  alli- 
ance with  the  hippopotamus,  which  never  occurs  in  the  New  World. 
From  a  supposed  resemblance,  however,  to  that  animal  in  form  or  habit, 
it  was  named  hippopotamus  terrestris  by  Linnaeus.  It  inhabits  the  east- 
ern shores  of  South  America,  from  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  to  the  Straits 
of  Magellan ;  and  although  it  breeds  in  dry  places  on  the  sides  of  hills, 
it  also  frequents  moist  and  marshy  stations,  and  is  an  excellent  swim- 
mer. When  hunted,  it  takes  to  the  water,  and  descends  for  safety  to  the 
bottom.  Its  food  consists  of  wild  fruits  and  the  delicate  sprigs  and 
branches  of  various  shrubs.  It  also  searches  eagerly  after  a  kind  of  ni- 
trous «arth  called  barrero. 


228  INDIANS    OF    THE    RIVER    TOBASCO. 

For  above  twenty  miles  up  the  river  there  was  no  settle- 
ment ;  after  which  there  was  a  small  fort,  with  a  garrison 
consisting  of  a  Spaniard  and  eight  or  ten  Indians  whom  he 
commanded,  whose  business  was  rather  to  spread  alarm  into 
the  interior  if  the  Bucaniers  approached  than  to  resist  their 
attacks.  Their  precautions  were,  however,  useless  when 
opposed  to  the  address  and  activity  of  the  Bucaniers,  who 
had  frequently  pillaged  the  towns  and  villages  on  this  river, 
though  latterly  they  had  sometimes  been  repulsed  with  loss. 
In  some  of  these  towns  there  were  merchants  and  planters, 
cocoa-walks  being  frequent  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 
Some  parts  along  the  banks  were  thickly  planted  with  Indian 
towns,  each  having  a  padre,  and  also  a  cacique,  or  governor. 
These  Indians  were  free  labourers  in  the  cocoa-walks  of  the 
Spanish  settlers,  though  a  few  of  them  had  plantations  of 
maize,  plantain-walks,  and  even  small  cocoa-walks  of  their 
own.  Some  of  the  natives  were  bee-hunters,  searching  in  the 
hollow  trees  in  the  woods  for  hives,  and  selling  the  wax  and 
honey.  These  Indian  bee-hunters  were  so  ingenious  as  to 
supply  the  wild  bees*  with  trees  artificially  hollowed,  and 
thus  increased  the  number  of  hives  and  the  profits  of  their 
traffic.  "The  Indians  inhabiting  these  villages  live  like 
gentlemen,"  says  Dampier,  "  in  comparison  of  many  near 
any  great  towns,  such  as  Campeachy  or  Merida ;  for  there 
even  the  poorer  and  rascally  sort  of  people  that  are  not  able 
to  hire  one  of  these  poor  creatures  will  by  violence  drag 
them  to  do  their  drudgery  for  nothing,  after  they  have 
worked  all  day  for  their  masters." 

The  Indians  of  the  villages  on  the  Tobasco  lived  chiefly 
on  maize,  which  they  baked  into  cakes,  and  from  which  they 
also  made  a  sort  of  liquor,  which,  when  allowed  to  sour, 
afforded  a  pleasant,  refreshing  draught.  When  a  beverage 
for  company  was  wanted,  a  little  honey  was  mixed  with 
this  drink.  A  stronger  liquor  was  made  of  parched  maize 
and  anotta,  which  was  drunk  without  straining.  The  In- 
dians reared  abundance  of  turkeys,  ducks,  and  fowls, — the 

*  All  the  bees  native  to  the  New  World  at  the  period  of  its  discovery 
by  the  Spaniards  were  found  to  be  distinct  from  those  of  Europe.  The 
honey-bee  (apis  mellijica)  is  now  common  in  America,  but  it  was  im- 
ported thither  for  its  economical  uses.  Many  swarms  have  cast  in  the 
woods ;  and  the  European  bee,  itself  of  Asiatic  origin,  may  now  be  found 
wild  at  great  distances  from  any  human  habitation.  We  cannot  name 
with  certainty  the  precise  species  alluded  to  by  Darapier. 


ASSAULT    ON   ALVARADO.  229 

\ 

padre  taking  such  strict  account  of  the  tithe  that  it  was 
necessary  to  procure  his  license  before  they  durst  kill  one. 
They  also  raised  cotton,  and  manufactured  their  own  cloth- 
ing, which  for  both  sexes  was  decent  and  becoming. 

Under  the  sanction  of  the  village-priest  all  marriages 
were  contracted  ;  the  men  marrying  at  fourteen,  the  women 
at  twelve.  If  at  this  early  age  they  had  made  no  choice, 
then  the  padre  selected  for  them.  These  early  marriages 
were  one  means  of  securing  the  power  and  increasing  the 
gains  of  the  priest ;  and  the  young  couples  themselves  were 
contented,  happy,  and  affectionate.  They  inhabited  good 
houses,  lived  comfortably  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  and 
on  holy  eves  and  saints'  days  enjoyed  themselves  under  the 
direction  of  their  spiritual  guides,  who  permitted  them  the 
recreation  of  pipe  and  tabor,  hautboys  and  drums,  and  lent 
them  vizards  and  ornaments  for  the  mummings  and  other 
amusements  which  they  practised.  The  village  churches 
were  lofty  compared  with  the  ordinary  dwelling-houses,  and 
ornamented  with  coarse  pictures  of  tawny  or  bronze-coloured 
saints  and  madonnas,  recommended  to  the  Indians  by  the 
tint  of  the  native  complexion.  To  their  good  padres,  not- 
withstanding the  tithe-fowls,  the  Indian  flocks  were  submis- 
sive and  affectionate. 

We  cannot  here  follow  the  minute  account  which  Dam- 
pier  has  given  of  all  the  rivers  of  Campeachy  during  his 
cruise  of  eleven  months  around  this  rich  country.  The  far- 
thest west  point  which  he  visited  was  Alvarado,  to  which 
the  Bucaniers  with  whom  he  sailed  went  in  two  barks,  thirty 
men  in  each.  The  river  flows  through  a  fertile  country, 
thickly  planted  with  Spanish  towns  and  Indian  villages. 
At  its  mouth  was  a  small  fort  placed  on  the  declivity  of  a 
sandbank,  and  mounted  with  six  guns.  The  sandbanks  are 
here  about  200  feet  high  on  both  sides. 

This  fort  the  Bucaniers  attacked  ;  but  it  held  out  stoutly 
for  five  hours,  during  which  time  the  country  was  alarmed, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  town  got  off  in  their 
boats,  carrying  away  all  their  money  and  valuables  and  the 
best  part  of  their  goods.  The  Bucaniers  lost  ten  men  killed 
or  desperately  wounded  ;  and  when  they  landed  next  morn- 
ing to  pillage,  it  being  dark  before  the  fort  yielded,  little 
booty  was  found.  Twenty  or  thirty  bullocks  they  killed, 
galted,  and  sent  on  board,  with  salt  fish,  Indian  corn,  and 
U 


230  ESCAPE    OF    THE    BUCANIERS. 

abundance  of  poultry.  They  also  found  and  brought  away 
many  tame  parrots  of  a  very  beautiful  kind,  yellow  and 
scarlet  curiously  blended, — the  fairest  and  largest  birds  of 
their  kind  Dampier  ever  saw  in  the  West  Indies.  "  They 
prated  very  prettily." 

Though  little  solid  booty  was  obtained,  what  with  pro- 
visions, chests,  hencoops,  and  parrots'  cages,  the  ships  were 
filled  and  lumbered ;  and  while  in  this  state  seven  Spanish 
armadilloes  from  Vera  Cruz,  detached  in  pursuit  of  the 
Bucaniers,  appeared,  coming  full  sail  over  the  bar  into  the 
river.  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  Clearing  their  decks 
of  lumber  by  throwing  all  overboard,  the  Bucaniers  got 
under  full  sail,  and  drove  over  the  bar  at  the  river's  mouth, 
before  the  enemy,  who  could  with  difficulty  stem  the  cur- 
rent, had  scarcely  reached  it.  The  Spanish  vessels  were  to 
windward,  and  a  few  shots  were  of  necessity  exchanged ; 
and  now  commenced  one  of  those  singular  escapes  from 
tremendous  odds  of  strength  of  which  Bucanier  history  is  so 
full.  The  Toro,  the  admiral  of  the  Spanish  barks,  was  of 
itself  more  than  a  match  for  the  freebooters.  It  carried  10 
guns  and  100  men,  while  their  whole  force  was  now  dimin- 
ished to  50  men  in  both  ships,  one  of  which  carried  6,  the 
other  2  guns.  Another  of  the  Spanish  vessels  carried  4 
guns,  with  80  men  ;  and  the  remaining  five,  though  not 
mounted  with  great  guns,  had  each  60  or  70  men  armed 
with  muskets.  "As  soon,"  says  Dampier's  journal,  "as 
we  were  over  the  bar,  we  got  our  larboard  tacks  aboard,  and 
stood  to  the  eastward  as  nigh  the  wind  as  we  could  lie.  The 
Spaniards  came  quartering  on  us ;  and  our  ship  being  the 
headmost,  the  Toro  came  directly  towards  us,  designing  to 
board  us.  We  kept  firing  at  her,  in  hopes  to  have  lamed 
either  a  mast  or  a  yard  ;  but  failing,  just  as  she  was  sheer- 
ing aboard  we  gave  her  a  good  volley,  and  presently  clapped 
the  helm  aweather,  wore  our  ship,  and  got  our  starboard 
tacks  aboard,  and  stood  to  the  westward,  and  so  left  the 
Toro  ;  but  were  saluted  by  all  the  small  craft  as  we  passed 
them,  who  stood  to  the  eastward  after  the  Toro,  that  \vns 
now  in  pursuit  and  close  to  our  consort.  We  stood  to  the 
westward  till  we  were  against  the  river's  mouth,  then  we 
tacked,  and  by  the  help  of  the  current  that  came  out  of  the 
river  we  were  near  a  mile  to  windward  of  them  all.  Then 
we  made  sail  to  assist  our  consort,  who  was  hard  put  to  it; 


DAMPIER'S  MARRIAGE.  231 

but  on  our  approach  the  Toro  edged  away  towards  the 
shore,  as  did  all  the  rest,  and  stood  away  for  Alvarado  ;  and 
we,  glad  of  the  deliverance,  went  away  to  the  eastward,  and 
visited  all  the  rivers  in  our  return  again  to  Trist." 

These  visits  produced  little  booty.  They  also  searched 
the  bays  for  munjack,  "  a  sort  of  bitumen  which  we  find  in 
a  lump,  washed  up  by  the  sea,  and  left  dry  on  all  the  sandy 
bays  of  the  coast."  This  substance  the  Bucaniers,  who 
were  compelled  to  find  substitutes  for  many  necessary  things, 
tempered  with  tallow  or  oil,  and  employed  as  pitch  in  re- 
pairing their  ships  and  canoes. 

On  the  return  of  Dampier  to  the  Island  of  Trist,  the 
effects  of  the  dismal  hurricane  of  the  former  year  had  dis- 
appeared, and  he  resumed  his  labours  among  the  woodmen. 
This  employment  was  probably  more  profitable  than  his 
bucaniering  cruise  ;  as  in  the  course  of  the  following 
season  he  was  able  to  visit  England,  intending  to  return 
to  the  bay  when  he  had  seen  his  friends.  He  sailed  for 
Jamaica  in  April,  1678,  and  in  the  beginning  of  August 
reached  London. 

Cutting  diewood  was  still  a  profitable  though  a  labo- 
rious trade  ;  and  Dampier  shrewdly  remarks,  "  that  though 
it  is  not  his  business  to  say  how  far  the  English  had  a 
tight  to  follow  it,  yet  he  was  sure  that  the  Spaniards  never 
received  less  damage  from  the  persons  who  usually  followed 
that  trade  than  when  they  had  exchanged  the  musket  for 
the  axe,  and  the  deck  of  the  privateer  for  the  logwood- 
groves." 

During  his  short  residence  in  England  at  this  time  Dam- 
pier  must  have  married  ;  for,  though  a  trifling  matter  of 
this  kind  is  too  unimportant  to  be  entered  in  a  seaman's 
journal,  we  long  afterward,  while  he  lay  oft'  the  Bashee  or 
Five  Islands,  learn  thit  he  had  left  a  wife  in  England,  as, 
in  compliment  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  he  named  the  north- 
ernmost of  the  Bashee  group  Grafton's  Isle,  "  having,  as 
he  says,  "  married  my  wife  out  of  his  dutchess's  family,  and 
leaving  her  at  Arlington  House  at  my  going  abroad." 


232    DAMPIER  RETURNS  TO  THE    WEST   INDIES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Adventures  with  the  Bucaniers. 

Dampier  leaves  England  for  Jamaica— Joins  the  Bucamers — Assault 
of  Porto  Bello— Description  of  the  Mosquito  Indians—  Their  Ingenuity 
in  Fishing — In  using  the  Harpoon— Acuteness  of  their  Senses— Their 
Customs— The  Bucaniers  under  Captain  Sharp  cross  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien— Sea-fiffht  in  the  Road  of  Panama— Differences  among  the 
Bucaniers— Sharp  leaves  the  South  Sea— Retreat  of  Dampier  and  a 
Party  of  Bucaniers  across  the  Isthmus— Difficulties  of  the  Journey 
—They  reach  the  Samballaa  Isles— Cruise  of  Dampier  with  the  Buc- 
aniers—Adventures  of  Wafer  among  the  Indians  of  the  Darien — 
Carthagena,  and  the  Monastery  there — Dutch  Governor— Wreck  of 
the  French  Fleet— Stratagem  of  a  French  Bucanier— Pillage  of  Rio 
de  la  Hacha— Pearl-fishery— The  Tropic-bird— Iguanas — Negro  Doc 
tor— Dampier's  farther  Adventures  indicated. 

AFTER  spending  five  or  six  months  with  his  wife  and  his 
friends,  Dampier,  in  the  beginning  of  1679,  sailed  as  a  pas- 
senger for  Jamaica,  intending  immediately  to  return  to  his 
old  trade  and  companions  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy.  He 
took  out  goods  from  England,  which  he  meant  to  exchange 
at  Jamaica  for  the  commodities  in  request  among  the  wood- 
cutters. Instead,  however,  of  prosecuting  this  design, 
Dampier  remained  in  Jamaica  all  that  year,  and  by  some 
means  was  enabled  to  purchase  a  small  estate  in  Dorset- 
shire. This  new  possession  he  was  about  to  visit,  when 
induced  to  engage  in  a  trading  voyage  to  the  Mosquito 
Shore.  It  promised  to  be  profitable,  and  he  was  anxious 
to  realize  a  little  more  ready  money  before  returning  to 
England  to  settle  for  life.  He  accordingly  sent  home 
the  title-deeds  of  his  estate,  and  embarked  with  a  Mr. 
Hobby. 

Soon  after  leaving  Port  Royal,  they  came  to  anchor  in  a 
bay  in  the  west  end  of  the  island,  in  which  they  found 
Captains  Coxon,  Sawkins,  Sharp,  and  "  other  privateers," 
as  Dampier  gently  terms  the  most  noted  Bucanier  com- 
manders of  the  period.  Hobby's  crew  deserted  him  to  a 


CAPTURE  OF  PORTO  BELLO.        233 

man  to  join  the  Bucanier  squadron  ;  and  the  Mosquito 
toyage  being  thus  frustrated,  Dampier  "  was  the  more 
easily  persuaded  to  go  with  them  too." 

Their  first  attempt  was  on  Porto  Bello,  of  which  assault 
Dampier  gives  no  account,  and  he  might  not  have  been 
present  at  the  capture.  Two  hundred  men  were  landed ; 
and,  the  better  to  prevent  alarm,  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  town  that  it  took  them  three  days  to  march  upon  it,  as 
during  daylight  they  lay  concealed  in  the  woods.  A  negro 
gave  the  alarm,  but  not  before  the  Bucaniers  were  so 
close  upon  his  heels  that  the  inhabitants  were  completely 
taken  by  surprise,  and  fled  in  every  direction.  The  Buc- 
aniers plundered  for  two  days  and  two  nights,  in  moment- 
ary expectation  of  the  country  rising  upon  them,  and 
overpowering  their  small  number ;  but,  from  avarice  and 
rapacity,  they  were  unable  to  tear  themselves  away. 

To  the  shame  of  the  Spaniards  they  got  clear  off,  and 
divided  shares  of  160  pieces  of  eight  a  head.  Inspired  by 
this  success,  they  resolved  immediately  to  march  across  the 
isthmus.  They  knew  that  such  strokes  of  good  fortune  as 
this  at  Porto  Bello  could  not  longer  be  looked  for  on  the 
eastern  shores  of  America,  and  for  some  time  their  imagi- 
nations had  been  running  upon  the  endless  wealth  to  be 
found  in  the  South  Seas.  They  remained  for  about  a 
fortnight  at  the  Samballas  Isles,  and  during  this  time,  pre- 
paratory to  their  grand  attempt,  endeavoured  to  conciliate 
the  Indians  of  the  Darien,  by  gifts  of  toys  and  trinkets,  and 
many  fair  promises.  They  also  persuaded  some  of  the 
Mosquito-men  to  join  them,  who,  on  account  of  their  ex- 
pertness  in  fishing,  and  striking  turtle  and  manatee,  besides 
their  warlike  qualities,  were  useful  auxiliaries  either  in 
peace  or  war.  Of  this  tribe,  so  long  the  friends,  and,  as 
they  named  themselves,  the  subjects  of  Britain,  Dampier 
has  given  an  exceedingly  interesting  account.  In  his 
time  the  clan  or  sept  properly  called  Mosquito-men  must 
have  been  very  small,  as  he  says  the  fighting-men  did  not 
amount  to  100.  They  inhabited  a  tract  on  the  coast  near 
Cape  Gracios  Dios,  stretching  between  Cape  Honduras 
and  Nicaragua.  "  They  are,"  says  our  navigator,  who 
appears  partial  to  these  Indians,  "  very  ingenious  at  throw- 
ing the  lance,  fizgig,  harpoon,  or  any  manner  of  dart, 
bemg  bred  to  it  from  their  infancy ;  for  the  children, 
U2 


234  THE    MOSQUITO    INDIANS. 

imitating  their  parents,  never  go  abroad  without  a  lance  in 
their  hands,  which  they  throw  at  any  object  till  use  hath 
made  them  masters  of  the  art.  Then  they  learn  to  put  by 
a  lance,  arrow,  or  dart ;  the  manner  is  thus  : — Two  boys 
stand  at  a  small  distance,  and  dart  a  blunt  stick  at  one  an- 
other, each  of  them  holding  a  small  stick  in  his  right  hand, 
with  which  he  strikes  away  that  which  is  darted  at  him.  As 
they  grow  in  years  they  become  more  dexterous  and  coura- 
geous ;  and  then  they  will  stand  a  fair  mark  to  any  one 
that  will  shoot  arrows  at  them,  which  they  will  put  by  with 
a  very  small  stick  no  bigger  than  the  rod  of  a  fowling-piece ; 
and  when  they  are  grown  to  be  men  they  will  guard  them- 
selves from  arrows  though  they  come  very  thick  at  them, 
provided  they  do  not  happen  to  come  two  at  once.  They 
have  extraordinary  good  eyes,  and  will  descry  a  sail  at  sea, 
and  see  any  thing  better  than  we.  Their  chiefest  employ- 
ment in  their  own  country  is  to  strike  fish,  turtle,  or 
manatee.  For  this  they  are  esteemed  and  coveted  by  all 
privateers,  for  one  or  two  of  them  in  a  ship  will  maintain 
100  men  ;  so  that  when  we  careen  our  ships  we  choose 
commonly  such  places  where  there  is  plenty  of  turtle  or 
manatee  for  these  Mosquito-men  to  strike,  and  it  is  very 
rare  to  find  a  privateer  destitute  of  one  or  more  of  them, 
when  the  commander  and  most  of  the  crew  are  English ; 
but  they  do  not  love  the  French,  and  the  Spaniards  they 
hate  mortally. 

"  They  are  tall,  well-made,  raw-boned,  lusty,  strong,  and 
nimble  of  foot,  long-visaged,  lank  black  hair,  look  stern, 
hard-favoured,  and  of  a  dark  copper  complexion.  When 
they  come  among  the  privateers  they  get  the  use  of  fire- 
arms, and  are  very  good  marksmen.  They  behave  them- 
selves very  bold  in  fight,  and  never  seem  to  flinch  nor  hang 
back  ;  for  they  think  that  the  white  men  with  whom  they 
are  know  better  than  they  do  when  it  is  best  to  fight,  and, 
let  the  disadvantage  of  their  party  be  never  so  great,  they 
will  never  yield  nor  give  back  while  any  of  their  party 
stand.  I  could  never  perceive  any  religion  nor  any  cere- 
monies or  superstitious  observations  among  them,  being 
ready  to  imitate  us  in  whatsoever  they  saw  us  do  at  any 
time.  Only  they  seem  to  fear  the  Devil,  whom  they  call 
Willesaw ;  and  they  say  he  often  appears  to  some  among 
them,  whom  our  men  commonly  call  their  priests,  when 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.      235 

they  desire  to  speak  with  him  on  urgent  business.  They 
all  say  they  must  not  anger  him,  for  then  he  will  beat 
them  ;  and  he  sometimes  carries  away  these  their  priests. 
They  marry  but  one  wife,  with  whom  they  live  till  death 
separates  them.  At  their  first  coming  together  the  man 

makes  a  very  small  plantation They  delight  to 

settle  near  the  sea,  or  by  some  river,  for  the  sake  of  striking 
fish,  their  beloved  employment ;  for  within  land  there  are 
other  Indians  with  whom  they  are  always  at  war.  After 
the  man  hath  cleared  a  spot  of  land,  and  hath  planted  it, 
he  seldom  minds  it  afterward,  but  loaves  the  managing  of 
it  to  his  wife,  and  he  goes  out  a-striking.  Sometimes  he 
seeks  only  for  fish,  at  other  times  for  turtle  or  manatee, 
and  whatever  he  gets  he  brings  home  to  his  wife,  and  never 
stirs  out  to  seek  for  more  till  it  is  eaten.  When  hunger 
begins  to  bite,  he  either  takes  his  canoe  and  seeks  for  more 
game  at  sea,  or  walks  out  into  the  woods  and  hunts  for 
pecaree  and  waree,  each  a  sort  of  wild  hogs,  or  deer,  and 
seldom  returns  empty-handed,  nor  seeks  any  more  as  long 
as  it  lasts.  Their  plantations  have  not  above  twenty  or 
thirty  plantain-trees,  a  bed  of  yams  and  potatoes,  a  bush  of 
pimento,  and  a  small  spot  of  pineapples,  from  which  they 
make  a  sort  of  drink,  to  which  they  invite  each  other  to  be 
merry.  Whoever  of  them  makes  pine-drink  treats  his 
neighbours,  providing  fish  and  flesh  also." 

At  their  drinking-matches  they  often  quarrelled,  but  the 
women  prevented  mischief  by  hiding  their  weapons.  The 
Mosquito-men  were  kind  and  civil  to  the  English,  who  en- 
deavoured to  retain  the  regard  of  such  useful  allies.  For 
this  purpose  it  was  necessary  to  let  them  have  their  own 
way  in  every  thing,  and  to  return  home  the  moment  they 
desired  it,  for  if  contradicted  there  was  an  end  of  their  ser- 
vices ;  and  though  turtle  and  fish  abounded,  they  would 
manage  to  kill  nothing.  They  called  themselves,  as  has 
been  noticed,  subjects  of  the  King  of  England,  and  liked 
to  have  their  chiefs  nominated  by  the  Governor  of  Jamaica, 
which  island  they  often  visited.  Pity  that  in  subsequent 
periods  the  fidelity  and  regard  of  this  brave  and  ingenious 
tribe  were  so  ill  and  ungratefully  requited  by  their  powerful 
and  ungenerous,  allies. 

The  Bucaniers  commenced  their  march  across  the 
isthmus  on  the  5th  April,  1680,  about  330  strong,  each 


236          SEA-FIGHT    IN    THE    ROAD    OF    PANAMA. 

man  armed  with  a  hanger,  fusil,  and  pistol,  and  provided 
with  four  cakes  of  the  bread  which  they  called  doughboys. 
Their  generalissimo  was  Captain  Sharp  ;  and  the  men, 
marshalled  in  divisions,  marched  in  something  like  military 
order,  with  flags  and  leaders.  They  were  accompanied  by 
those  Indians  of  Darien  who  were  the  hereditary  enemies 
of  the  Spaniards,  whom  they  had  subsidized  with  the 
hatchets,  knives,  beads,  and  toys  with  which  they  provided 
themselves  at  Porto  Bello.  These  auxiliaries  furnished 
them  with  plantains,  venison,  and  fruit,  in  exchange  for 
European  commodities.  The  march  was  easily  performed) 
and  in  nine  days'  journey  they  reached  Santa  Maria,  which 
was  taken  without  opposition,  though  this  did  not  prevent 
the  exercise  of  cruelty.  The  Indians  cruelly  and  delibe- 
rately butchered  many  of  the  inhabitants.  The  plunder  ob- 
tained falling  far  short  of  the  expectations  of  the  Bucaniers 
made  them  the  more  desirous  to  push  forward.  They 
accordingly  embarked  on  thn  river  of  Santa  Maria,  which 
falls  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  in  Indian  canoes  and 
pirogues,  havinj-  previously,  in  their  summary  way,  de- 
Captain  Sharp,  and  chosen  Captain  Coxon  com- 
mander. 

On  the  same  day  that  they  reached  the  bay,  whither 
dome  of  the  Darien  chiefs  still  accompanied  them,  they 
captured  a  Spanish  vessel  of  thirty  tons  burthen,  on  board 
of  which  a  large  party  planted  themselves,  happy  after  the 
march,  and  being  cramped  and  huddled  up  in  the  canoes, 
again  to  tread  the  deck  of  a  ship  of  any  size.  At  this  time 
they  divided  into  small  parties,  first  appointing  a  rendez- 
vous at  the  island  of  Chepillo,  in  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Cheapo.  Dam  pier  was  with  Captain  Sharp,  who  went  to 
the  Pearl  Islands  in  search  of  provisions. 

In  a  few  days  the  Bucaniers  mustered  for  the  attack  of 
Panama,  and  on  the  23d  April  did  battle  for  the  whole  day 
with  three  Spanish  ships  in  the  road,  of  which  two  were 
captured  by  boarding,  while  the  third  got  off.  The  action 
was  fierce  and  sanguinary  ;  of  the  Bucaniers  eighteen  men 
were  killed,  and  thirty  wounded.  The  resistance  was 
vigorous  and  brave  ;  and  the  Spanish  commander  with 
many  of  his  people  fell  before  the  action  terminated.  Even 
after  this  victory  the  Bucaniers  did  not  consider  themselves 
strong  enough  to  attack  the  new  city  of  Panama,  but  they 


DIFFERENCES    OF    THE    BUCANIER8.  237 

continued  to  cruise  in  the  bay,  making  valuable  prizes.  In 
the  action  with  the  Spanish  ships  Captain  Sawkins  had 
greatly  distinguished  himself  by  courage  and  conduct ;  and 
a  quarrel  breaking  out  among  the  Bucaniers  while  Coxon 
returned  to  the  North  Seas,  he  was  chosen  commander. 
He  had  not  many  days  enjoyed  this  office,  when,  in  an  attack 
on  Puebla  Nueva,  he  was  killed,  leading  on  his  men  to  the 
assault  of  a  breastwork  ;  and  on  his  death  Sharp,  the 
second  in  command,  showipg  faint  heart,  the  Bucaniers 
retreated.  New  discontents  broke  out,  and  the  party  once 
more  divided,  not  being  able  to  agree  in  the  choice  of  a 
leader  ;  of  those  who  remained  in  the  South  Sea,  among 
whom  was  Dampier,  Sharp  was  chosen  commander.  For 
some  months  he  cruised  on  the  coast  of  Peru,  occasionally 
landing  to  pillage  small  towns  and  villages  ;  and  on  Christ- 
mas-day* anchored  in  a  harbour  of  the  Island  of  Juan 
Fernandez  to  rest  and  refit.  Here  they  obtained  abundance 
of  crayfish,  lobsters,  and  wild  goats,  which  were  numerous. 

Sharp,  who  had  always  been  unpopular,  was  once  more 
formally  deposed,  and  Captain  Watling  elected  in  his  stead. 

Having  enjoyed  themselves  till  the  12th  of  January,  the 
Bucaniers  were  alarmed  by  the  appearance  of  three  vessels, 
which  they  concluded  to  be  Spanish  ships  of  war  in  pursuit 
of  them.  They  put  off  to  sea  in  all  haste,  in  the  hurry 
leaving  one  of  their  Mosquito  Indians,  named  William, 
upon  the  island. 

They  again  cruised  along  the  coast,  and  the  attack  of 
the  Spanish  settlements  by  hasty  descent  was  resumed.  In 
attempting  to  capture  Arica  Captain  Watling  was  killed, 
and  the  Bucaniers  were  repulsed,  having  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  being  all  made  prisoners.  For  want  of  any 
more  competent  leader,  Sharp  was  once  more  raised  to  the 
command,  and  the  South  Sea  had  so  greatly  disappointed 
their  hopes,  that  it  was  now  agreed  to  return  eastward  by 
recrossing  the  isthmus.  But  another  quarrel  broke  out, 
one  party  would  not  continue  under  Sharp,  and  another 
wished  to  try  their  fortunes  farther  on  the  South  Sea.  It 
was  therefore  agreed  that  the  majority  should  retain  the 

*  At  any  season  of  the  year,  when  .the  Bucaniers,  after  a  period  of 
watching  and  toil,  had  obtained  booty,  provisions,  and  liquor,  they  often 
retired  to  some  of  their  nearest  hunting-places,  "  to  keep  a  Christmas," 
as  they  chose  to  term  their  revel. 


238  RETREAT    ACROSS    THE    ISTHMUS. 

ship,  the  other  party  taking  the  long-boat  nnd  cnnoes. 
Sharp's  party  proved  the  most  numerous.  They  cruised 
in  the  South  Sea,  on  the  coast  of  Patagonia  and  Chili,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  season  of  1681,  and  early  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  returned  to  the  West  Indies  by  doubling  Cape 
Horn,  but  durst  not  land  at  any  of  the  English  settlements. 
Sharp,  soon  afterward  going  home,  was  tried  in  England 
with  several  of  his  men  for  piracy^  but  escaped  conviction. 
In  the  minority  which  broke  off  from  Sharp  was  William 
Dampier,  who  appears  at  this  time  to  have  been  little  dis- 
tinguished among  his  companions.  The  party  consisted 
of  forty-four  Europeans  and  two  Mosquito  Indians.  Their 
object  was  to  recross  the  isthmus, — an  undertaking  of  no 
small  difficulty,  from  the  nature  of  the  country  and  the 
hostility  of  the  Spaniards.  Before  they  left  the  ship  they 
sifted  a  large  quantity  of  flour,  prepared  chocolate  with 
sugar,  as  provision,  and  entered  into  a  mutual  engagement, 
that  if  any  man  sank  on  the  journey  he  should  be  shot  by 
his  comrades,  as  but  one  man  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  must  betray  the  others  to  certain  destruction. 
In  a  fortnight  after  leaving  the  ship  near  the  Island  of 
Plata,  they  landed  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  in  the  Bay  of  St. 
Michael,  where,  taking  out  all  their  provisions,  arms,  and 
clothing,  they  sank  their  boat.  While  they  spent  a  few 
hours  in  preparing  for  the  inland  march,  the  Mosquito-men 
caught  fish,  which  afforded  one  plentiful  meal  to  the  whole 
party;  after  which  they  commenced  their  journey  late  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  May.  At  night  they  constructed 
huts,  in  which  they  slept.  On  the  2d  they  struck  into 
an  Indian  path,  and  reached  an  Indian  village,  where  they 
obtained  refreshments  ;  but  were  uneasy  on  understanding 
the  closeness  of  their  vicinity  to  the  Spaniards,  who  had 
placed  ships  at  the  mouths  of  the  navigable  rivers  to  look 
out  for  them,  and  intercept  their  return  eastward.  Next 
day,  with  a  hired  Indian  guide,  they  proceeded,  and  reached 
the  dwelling  of  a  native,  who  received  them  with  sullen 
churlishness,  which  in  ordinary  times  the  Bucrmiers  would 
ill  have  brooked  ;  "  though  this,"  says  Dampier,  "  was 
neither  a  time  nor  place  to  be  angry  with  the  Indians,  all 
our  lives  lying  at  their  hands."  Neither  the  temptation  of 
dollars,  hatchets,  nor  long  knives  would  operate  on  this 
intractable  Indian,  till  one  of  the  seamen,  taking  a  sky- 


CONTINUATION   OF    THE    JOURNEY.  239 

coloured  petticoat  from  his  bag,  threw  it  over  the  lady  of 
the  house,  who  was  so  much  delighted  with  the  gift,  that 
she  soon  wheedled  her  husband  into  better  humour  ;  and  he 
now  not  only  gave  them  information,  but  found  them  a  guide. 
It  rained  hard  and  frequently  on  both  days,  but  they  were  still 
too  near  the  Spanish  garrisons  and  guard  ships  to  mind  the 
weather  or  to  dally  by  the  way.  The  country  was  found 
difficult  and  fatiguing,  without  any  trace  of  a  path,  the 
Indians  guiding  themselves  by  the  rivers,  which  they  were 
sometimes  compelled  to  cross  twenty  or  thirty  times  in  a 
day.  Rainy  weather,  hardship,  and  hunger  soon  expelled 
all  fear  of  the  Spaniards,  who  were,  besides,  not  likely  to 
follow  their  foes  into  these  intricate  solitudes. 

On  the  5th  day  they  reached  the  dwelling  of  a  young 
Spanish  Indian, — a  civilized  person,  who  had  lived  with 
the  Bishop  of  Panama,  and  spoke  the  Spanish  language 
fluently.  He  received  them  kindly,  and  though  unable  to 
provide  for  the  wants  of  so  many  men,  freely  gave  what  he 
had.  At  this  place  they  rested  to  dry  their  clothes  and  am- 
munition, and  to  clean  their  firearms.  While  thus  employed 
Mr.  Wafer,  the  surgeon  of  the  Bucaniers,  who  had  been 
among  the  malecontents,  had  his  knee  so  much  scorched 
by  an  accidental  explosion  of  gunpowder,  that,  after  drag- 
ging himself  forward  during  another  day,  he  was  forced  to 
remain  behind  his  companions,  together  with  one  or  two 
more  who  had  been  exhausted  by  the  march.  Among  the 
Indians  of  the  Darien  Wafer  remained  for  three  months, 
and  he  has  left  an  account,  which  is  considered  the  best 
we  yet  possess,  of  those  tribes. 

The  march  was  continued  in  very  bad  weather,  this  being 
the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season,  and  thunder  and 
lightning  frequent  and  violent.  As  the  bottoms  of  the 
valleys  and  the  rivers'  banks  were  now  overflowed,  instead  of 
constructing  huts  every  night  for  their  repose,  the  travellers 
were  often  obliged  to  seek  for  a  resting-place,  and  to  sleep 
under  trees.  To  add  to  their  hardships  their  slaves  de- 
serted, carrying  off  whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands 
upon. 

Before  leaving  the  ship,  foreseeing  the  difficulties  of  the 
journey,  and  the  necessity  of  perpetually  fording  the  rivers, 
Dampier  had  taken  the  precaution  to  depoeite  his  journal 
in  a  bamboo,  closed  at  both  ends  with  wax.  In  this  way 


1(540  CRUISE    OF    THE    BUCANIERS. 

his  papers  were  secured  from  wet,  while  the  journalist  fre- 
quently swam  across  the  rivers  which  so  greatly  impeded 
the  progress  of  the  march.  In  crossing  a  river  where  the 
current  ran  very  strong,  one  man,  who  carried  his  fortune 
of  300  dollars  on  his  back,  was  swept  down  the  stream  and 
drowned ;  and  so  worn  out  were  his  comrades,  that,  fond 
as  they  were  of  gold,  they  would  not  at  this  time  take  the 
trouble  to  look  for  or  burden  themselves  with  his.  It  was 
the  eighteenth  day  of  the  march  before  the  Bucaniers 
reached  the  river  Conception,  where  they  obtained  Indian 
canoes,  in  which  they  proceeded  to  La  Sound's  Key,  one 
of  the  Samballas  Islands,  which  were  much  frequented  by 
the  Bucaniers.  Here  they  entered  a  French  privateer, 
commanded  by  Captain  Tristian  ;  and,  with  better  faith 
than  Bucaniers  usually  displayed,  generously  rewarded 
their  Indian  guides  with  money,  toys,  and  hatchets,  and 
dismissed  them.  The  Bucaniers  of  this  time  were  some- 
what less  ferocious  in  manners  than  those  under  Morgan 
and  Lolonnois,  though  it  never  entered  into  their  thoughts 
that  there  could  be  any  wrong  in  robbing  the  Spaniards. 
Sawkins  and  Watling  maintained  stricter  discipline  than 
had  been  customary  in  former  periods,  approximating  their 
discipline  and  regulations  to  those  of  privateers,  or  ships 
of  war.  They  even  made  the  Sabbath  be  observed  with 
outward  signs  of  respect.  On  one  occasion,  when  Sawkins's 
men,  who  like  all  Bucaniers  were  inveterate  gamblers, 
played  on  Sunday,  the  captain  flung  the  dice  overboard. 

In  two  days  after  Dampier  and  his  friends  had  gone  on 
board  the  French  vessel,  it  left  La  Sound's  for  Springer's 
Key,  another  of'the  Samballas  Islands,  where  eight  Buc- 
anier  vessels  then  lay,  of  which  the  companies  had  formed 
the  design  of  crossing  to  Panama.  From  this  expedition 
they  were,  however,  diverted  by  the  dismal  report  of  the 
newly-arrived  travellers  ;  and  the  assault  of  other  places 
was  taken  into  consideration.  From  Trinidad  to  Vera 
Cruz  the  Bucaniers  had  now  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
every  town  upon  the  coast,  and  for  twenty  leagues  into  the 
interior ;  and  acquaintance  with  the  strength  and  wealth 
of  each,  and  with  the  number  and  quality  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  preliminary  consultations  now  held  lasted  for  a  week, 
the  French  and  English  not  agreeing;  but  at  last  they 
sailed  for  Carpenter's  River,  going  first  towards  the  Isle 


ADVENTURES    OF   WAFER.  241 

of  St.  Andreas.  In  a  gale  the  ships  were  separated  ;  and 
Dampier,  being  left  with  a  French  captain,  conceived  such 
a  dislike  to  his  shipmates,  that  he  and  his  fellow-travellers 
in  crossing  the  isthmus  induced  a  countryman  of  their 
own,  named  Captain  Wright,  to  fit  up  and  arm  a  small 
vessel,  with  which  they  cruised  about  the  coast  in  search 
of  provisions,  still,  however,  keeping  their  jackals,  the 
Mosquito-men,  who  caught  turtle  while  the  Bucaniers 
hunted  in  the  woods  for  pecaree,  waree,  deer,  quaums,  par- 
rots, pigeons,  and  curassow  birds,*  and  also  monkeys,  which 
in  times  of  hardship  they  esteemed  a  delicate  morsel.  At 
one  place  several  of  the  men  were  suddenly  taken  ill  from 
eating  land-crabs  which  had  fed  upon  the  fruit  of  the  man- 
chineel-tree.  All  animals  that  fed  on  this  fruit  were 
avoided  by  the  freebooters  as  unwholesome,  if  not  poison- 
ous. In  selecting  unknown  wild-fruits  the  Bucaniers 
were  guided  by  the  birds,  freely  eating  whatever  kind  had 
been  peckecj,  but  no  bird  touched  the  fruit  of  the  manchineel. 
On  returning  to  La  Sound's  Key  from  this  cruise,  they 
were  joined  by  Mr.  Wafer.  He  had  been  for  three  months 
kindly  entertained  by  an  Indian  chief,  who  had  offered  him 
his  daughter  in  marriage,  and  grudged  him  nothing  save 
the  liberty  of  going  away.  From  this  kind  but  exacting 
chief  he  escaped  under  pretence  of  going  in  search  of  Eng- 
lish dogs  to  be  employed  in  hunting,  the  Indian  being 

*  Of  the  Curassow  birds  (genus  Crax),  so  named,  we  presume,  from 
Curassow  in  Guiana,  several  species  are  known  to  naturalists.  They 
belong  to  the  gallinaceous  order,  and  are  of  large  size,  easy  domestica- 
tion, and  much  esteemed  for  the  flavour  of  their  flesh.  They  feed  on 
fruits  and  seeds,  and  build  as  well  as  perch  on  trees.  Many  of  them 
are  distinguished  by  a  singular  contortion  in  the  trachea  or  windpipe,  of 
which  an  account  was  published  by  Dr.  Latham  in  the  fourth  volume  of 
the  Linn.  Trans.  The  crested  Curassow  (Crax  alector)  is  a  beautiful 
bird,  nearly  three  feet  in  length.  It  inhabits  Guiana,  Mexico,  Brazil, 
and  Paraguay.  A  curious  variety,  or  hybrid,  is  described  by  Temminck 
as  having  sprung  from  the  intermixture  of  this  species  with  the  Crax 
rubra.  This  latter  species  has  likewise  a  fine  crest,  and  is  nearly  as 
large  as  a  turkey.  The  globe-bearing  Curassow  (Crax  globicera)  is 
characterized  by  a  remarkable  tubercle  at  the  base  of  the  beak.  The 
whole  of  the  plumage  is  of  a  fine  black,  with  a  tinge  of  green  ;  the  abdo- 
men, under  tail-coverts,  and  tips  of  the  tail-feathers,  are  white.  It 
inhabits  Guiana.  A  new  species,  called  the  carunculated  Curassow 
(Crax  carunculata),  was  discovered  and  described  by  M.  Temminck. 
The  upper  parts  of  the  plumage  are  black  with  green  reflections ;  the 
abdomen  Is  of  a  ckestnut  colour.  It  measures  about  three  feet  in  length, 
and  inhabits  Brazil. 

X 


242       MONASTERY  AT  CARTHAGENA. 

aware  of  the  superiority  which  dogs  gave  the  Spaniards  in 
the  chase.  Mr.  Wafer  had  been  painted  by  the  women  of 
the  Darien,  and  his  own  clothes  being  worn  out,  he  was 
now  dressed,  or  rather  undressed,  like  the  natives  ;  whom, 
under  this  disguise,  he  resembled  so  much,  that  it  was 
some  time  before  Dampier  recognised  his  old  acquaintance 
the  surgeon. 

From  the  Samballas  they  cruised  towards  Carthagena, 
which  they  passed,  having  a  fair  view  of  the  city,  and  cast- 
ing longing  eyes  upon  the  rich  monastery  on  the  steep  hill 
rising  behind  it.  This  monastery,  dedicated  to  the  Virgin, 
is,  says  Dampier,  "  a  place  of  incredible  wealth,  by  reason 
of  the  offerings  made  here  continually ;  and  for  this  reason 
often  in  danger  of  being  visited  by  the  privateers,  did  not 
the  neighbourhood  of  Carthagena  keep  them  in  awe.  'Tis, 
in  short,  the  very  Loretto  of  the  West  Indies,  and  hath  in- 
numerable miracles  related  of  it.  Any  misfortune  that 
befalls  the  privateers  is  attributed  to  this  lady's  doing  ; 
and  the  Spaniards  report,  that  she  was  abroad  that  night 
the  Oxford  man-of-war  was  blown  up  at  the  Isle  of  Vaca, 
and  that  she  came  home  all  wet ;  as  belike  she  often  re- 
turns with  her  clothes  dirty  and  torn  with  passing  through 
woods  and  bad  ways  when  she  has  been  upon  an  expedi- 
tion, deserving  doubtless  a  new  suit  for  such  eminent  pieces 
of  service." 

The  company  of  Captain  Wright  pillaged  several  small 
places  about  Rio  de  la  Hacha  and  the  Rancheries,  which 
was  the  head-quarters  of  a  small  Spanish  pearl-fishery. 
The  pearl-banks  lay  about  four  or  five  leagues  off  the  shore. 
In  prosecuting  this  fishery,  the  Indian  divers,  first  an- 
choring their  boats,  dived,  and  brought  up  full  the  baskets 
previously  let  down  ;  and  when  their  barks  were  filled, 
they  went  ashore,  and  the  oysters  were  opened  by  the  old 
men,  women,  and  children,  under  the  inspection  of  a  Span- 
ish overseer. 

In  a  short  time  afterward,  the  Bucaniers  captured,  after 
a  smart  engagement,  an  armed  ship  of  twelve  guns  and 
forty  men,  laden  with  sugar,  tobacco,  and  marmalade,  bound 
to  Carthagena  from  St.  Jago  in  Cuba.  From  the  disposal 
of  this  cargo,  some  insight  is  afforded  into  the  mysteries  of 
bucaniering.  It  was  offered  first  to  the  Dutch  governor 
of  Curacao,  who  having,  as  he  said,  a  great  trade  with  the 


WRECK   OF   THE    FRENCH   FLEET.  243 

Spaniards,  could  not  openly  admit  the  freebooters  to  this 
island,  though  he  directed  them  to  go  to  St.  Thomas,  which 
belonged  to  the  Danes,  whither  he  would  send  a  sloop  with 
such  commodities  as  the  Bucaniers  required,  and  take  the 
sugar  off  their  hands.  The  rovers,  however,  declined  the 
terms  offered  by  the  cautious  Dutchman,  and  sailed  from 
St.  Thomas  to  another  Dutch  colony,  where  they  found  a 
better  merchant.  From  hence  they  sailed  for  the  Isle  of 
Aves,  which,  as  its  name  imports,  abounded  in  birds,  espe- 
cially boobies  and  men-of-war  birds.  The  latter  bird  was 
about  the  size  of  a  kite,  black,  with  a  red  throat.  It  lives 
on  fish,  yet  never  lights  in  the  water  ;  but,  soaring  aloil 
like  the  kite,  "  when  it  sees  its  prey,  darts  down,  snatches 
it,  and  mounts,  never  once  touching  the  water." 

On  a  coral  reef  off  the  south  side  of  this  island  the 
Count  d'Estre'es  had  shortly  before  lost  the  French  fleet. 
Firing  guns  in  the  darkness,  to  warn  the  ships  that  fol- 
lowed him  to  avoid  the  danger  on  which  he  had  run,  they 
imagined  that  he  was  engaged  with  the  enemy,  and  crowd- 
ing all  sail,  ran  upon  destruction.  The  ships  held  together 
next  day  till  part  of  the  men  got  on  shore,  though  man} 
perished  in  the  wreck.  Dampier  relates,  that  those  of  the 
ordinary  seamen  who  got  to  land  died  of  fatigue  and  famine, 
while  those  who  had  been  Bucaniers  and  were  wrecked 
here,  "  being  used  to  such  accidents,  lived  merrily ;  and  if 
they  had  gone  to  Jamaica  with  30/.  in  their  pockets,  could 
not  have  enjoyed  themselves  more  ;  for  they  kept  a  gang 
by  themselves,  and  watched  when  the  ships  broke  up  to  get 
the  goods  that  came  out  of  them  ;  and  though  much  was 
staved  against  the  rocks,  yet  abundance  of  wine  and  brandy 
floated  over  the  reef,  where  they  waited  to  take  it  up." 
The  following  anecdote  of  the  wrecked  crew  is  horribly 
striking  : — "  There  were  about  forty  Frenchmen  on  board 
one  of  the  ships,  in  which  was  good  store  of  liquor,  till  the 
after-part  of  her  broke,  and  floated  over  the  reef,  and  was 
carried  away  to  sea,  with  all  the  men  drinking  and  singing, 
who,  being  in  drink,  did  not  mind  the  danger,  but  were 
never  heard  of  afterward." 

In  a  short  time  after,  this  island  was  the  scene  of  a  clever 
bucaniering  trick,  which  Dampier  relates  with  some  glee. 
The  wreck  of  the  French  fleet  had  left  Aves  Island  a  per- 
fect arsenal  of  masts,  yards,  timbers,  and  so  forth,  and 


244     TRICK  OF  A  FRENCH  BUCANIER. 

hither  the  Bucaniers  repaired  to  careen  and  refit  their 
ships,  and  among  others  Captain  Pain,  a  Frenchman.  A 
Dutch  vessel  of  twenty  guns,  despatched  from  Cura9ao  to 
fish  up  the  guns  lost  on  the  reef,  descried  the  privateer, 
which  she  resolved  to  capture  before  engaging  in  the  busi- 
ness of  her  voyage.  The  Frenchman  abandoned  his  ship, 
which  he  saw  no  chance  of  preserving,  but  brought  ashore 
some  of  his  guns,  and  resolved  to  defend  himself  as  long  as 
possible.  While  his  men  were  landing  the  guns,  he  per- 
ceived at  a  distance  a  Dutch  sloop  entering  the  road,  and 
at  evening  found  her  at  anchor  at  the  west  end  of  the  island. 
During  the  night,  with  two  canoes,  he  boarded  and  took 
this  sloop,  found  considerable  booty,  and  made  off  with 
her,  leaving  his  empty  vessel  as  a  prize  to  the  Dutch  man- 
of-war. 

At  this  island  Dampier's  party  remained  for  some  time, 
careened  the  largest  ship,  scrubbed  a  sugar-prize  formerly 
taken,  and  recovered  two  guns  of  the  wreck  of  d'Estre'es's 
fleet.  They  afterward  went  to  the  Isles  of  Rocas,  where 
they  fell  in  with  a  French  ship  of  36  guns,  which  bought 
ten  tons  of  their  sugar.  The  captain  of  this  vessel  was  a 
knight  of  Malta.  To  Dampier  both  he  and  his  lieutenant 
were  particularly  attentive  and  kind,  and  offered  him  every 
encouragement  to  enter  the  French  navy.  This  he  declined 
from  feelings  of  patriotism. 

Here  he  saw,  besides  men-of-war  birds,  boobies,  and  nod- 
dies, numbers  of  the  tropic-bird.*  It  was  as  big  as  a 
pigeon,  and  round  and  plump  as  a  partridge,  all  white,  save 
two  or  three  light-gray  feathers  in  the  wing.  One  long 
feather  or  quill,  about  seven  inches  in  length,  growing  out 
of  the  rump,  is  all  the  tail  these  birds  have.  They  are  never 
seen  far  without  the  tropics,  but  are  met  with  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  land.  After  taking  in  what  water  could  be  ob- 
tained, they  left  Rocas,  and  went  to  Salt  Tortuga,  so  called 
to  distinguish  it  from  Dry  Tortuga  near  Cape  Florida,  and 
from  the  Tortuga  of  the  first  Bucaniers  near  Hispaniola, 
which  place  was  now,  however,  better  known  as  Petit 

*  There  are  several  species  of  tropic-bird,  but  the  one  alluded  to  above 
is  the  phaeton  ethereus  of  naturalists,  remarkable  for  its  restriction  to  the 
regions  from  which  it  derives  its  English  name.  It  feeds  on  fish,  and  is 
characterized  by  a  singular  degree  of  ease  and  gracefulness  in  its  mode 
of  flight.  It  inhabits  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  South  Sea,  and  its  pure 
and  pearly  plumage  is  distinguished  by  a  lustre  like  that  of  satin. 


IGUANA GUINEA-WORM.  245 

Guaves.  They  expected  to  sell  the  remainder  of  their  sugar 
to  the  English  vessels  which  came  here  for  salt ;  but  no* 
succeeding,  they  sailed  for  Blanco,  an  island  north  of  Mar- 
garita, and  thirty  leagues  from  the  main.  It  was  an  unin- 
habited island,  flat  and  low,  being  mostly  savanna,  with  a 
few  wrooded  spots,  in  which  flourished  the  lignum  vita. 
Iguanas,  or  guanoes,  as  they  were  commonly  called  in  the 
West  Indies,  abounded  on  Blanco.  They  resembled  the 
lizard  species,  but  were*  bigger,  about  the  size  of  the  small 
of  a  man's  leg.  From  the  hind-quarter  the  tail  tapers  to 
the  point.  If  seized  by  the  tail  near  the  extremity,  it  broke 
off  at  a  joint,  and  the  animal  escaped.  They  are  amphibious 
creatures.  Both  their  eggs  and  flesh  were  highly  esteemed 
by  the  Bucaniers,  who  made  soup  of  the  latter  for  their  sick. 
There  were  many  spefcies  found  here  living  on  land  or  water, 
in  the  swamps,  among  bushes,  or  on  trees.  Green  turtle 
frequented  this  island  in  numbers. 

From  Blanco  they  returned  to  Salt  Tortuga,  and  went 
from  thence  after  four  days  to  the  coast  of  the  Caraccas  on 
the  main. 

While  cruising  on  this  coast,  they  landed  in  some  of  the 
bays,  and  took  seven  or  eight  tons  of  cocoa,  and  afterward 
three  barks, — one  laden  with  hides,  another  with  brandy  and 
earthenware,  and  a  third  with  European  goods.  With  these 
prizes  they  returned  to  the  Rocas  to  divide  the  spoil ;  after 
which  Dampier  and  other  nineteen  out  of  a  company  of 
sixty  took  one  of  the  captured  vessels,  and  with  their  share 
of  the  plunder  held  their  course  direct  for  Virginia,  which 
was  reached  in  July,  1682. 

Of  the  thirteen  months  which  our  navigator  spent  in  Vir- 
ginia he  has  left  no  record  ;  but  from  another  portion  of  his 
memoirs  it  may  be  gathered  that  he  suffered  from  sickness 
during  most  of  the  time.  His  disease  was  not  more  singu- 
lar than  was  the  mode  of  cure  practised  by  a  negro  Escula- 
pius,  whose  appropriate  fee  was  a  white  cock.  The  disease 
was  what  is  called  the  Guinea-worm.  "  These  worms," 
says  Dampier,  "  are  no  bigger  than  a  large  brown  thread, 
but,  as  I  have  heard,  five  or  six  yards  long ;  and  if  it  break 
in  drawing  out,  that  part  which  remains  in  the  flesh  willpu- 
trify,  and  endanger  the  patient's  life,  and  be  very  painful. 
I  was  in  great  torment  before  it  came  out.  My  leg  and 
ankle  swelled,  and  looked  very  red  and  angry,  and  I  kept  a 
X2 


246  NEGRO    DOCTOR    OF    VIRGINIA. 

plaster  to  it  to  bring  it  to  a  head.  Drawing  off  my  plaster, 
out  came  about  three  inches  of  the  worm,  and  my  pain 
abated  presently.  Till  then  I  was  ignorant  of  my  malady, 
and  the  gentlewoman  at  whose  house  I  lodged  took  it  (the 
worm)  for  a  nerve  ;  but  I  knew  well  enough  what  it  was, 
and  presently  rolled  it  upon  a  small  stick.  After  that  I 
opened  it  every  morning  and  evening,  and  strained  it  out 
gently,  about  two  inches  at  a  time,  not  without  pain."  The 
negro  doctor  first  stroked  the  place  affected,  then  applied 
some  rough  powder  to  it  like  tobacco-leaves  crumbled,  next 
muttered  a  spell,  blew  upon  the  part  three  times,  waved  his 
hands  as  often,  and  said  that  in  three  days  it  would  be  well. 
It  proved  so,  and  the  stipulated  fee  of  the  white  cock  was 
gladly  paid. 

The  next  adventure  of  Dampier  was  the  circumnavigation 
of  the  globe, — a  voyage  and  ramble  extending  to  about  eight 
years,  which  in  point  of  interest  and  variety  has  never  yet 
been  surpassed.  To  it  we  dedicate  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Circumnavigation  of  the  Globe. 

Dampier's  New  Voyage— Cape  de  Verd  Isles— Bachelor's  Delight—  Falk- 
land Isles— Mosquito  William— Nautical  Remarks  of  Dampier— Junc- 
tion of  Cook  and  Eaton — The  Galapagos  Islands — Death  of  Cook — 
Escape  of  the  Bucaniers — Descent  at  Amapalla — Spanish  Indians — 
The  Bucaniers  separate— La  Plata  and  Mania— The  Cygnet  joins  the 
Bucaniers— Descent  on  Paita — Attempt  on  Guayaquil — Dampier's 
Scheme  of  working  the  Mines— Indians  of  St.  Jago — The  Bucaniers 
watch  the  Plate-fleet— Battle  in  the  Bay  of  Panama— Assault  of  Leon 
— Dampier  remains  in  the  Cygnet— His  Sickness — Crosses  the  Pacific 
— Island  of  Guahan — Mindanao — Its  Customs — The  Bucaniers  desert 
Swan— Future  Cruise  of  the  Cygnet— Pulo  Condore— The  Bashee 
Isles — Character  and  Manners  of  the  Islanders — Cruise  to  New-Hol- 
land—The  Country  and  People — The  Nicobar  Islands — Dampier  leaves 
the  Bucaniers — His  Voyage  to  Acheen — Voyages  with  Captains  Bowry 
and  Weldon— Remains  at  Bencoolen— Prince  Jeoly— Dampier's  Return 
to  England — Publication  of  his  Voyages— Employment  by  the  Admi- 
ralty. 

AMONG  the  companions  of  Dampier  inhisjournev  across  the 
isthmus,  and  in  his  subsequent  cruise,  was  Mr.  John  Cook, 
a  creole,  born  in  St.  Christopher's,  and  a  man  of  good  ca- 


STRATAGEM    OF    COOK.  247 

pacity.  He  had  acted  as  quarter-master,  or  second  in  com- 
mand, under  Captain  Yanky,  a  French  Flibustier,  who  at 
this  time  held  a  commission  as  a  privateer.  By  the  ordi- 
nary laws  of  the  Bucaniers,  when  a  prize  fit  for  a  piratical 
cruise  was  taken,  the  second  in  command  was  promoted  to 
it,  and  in  virtue  of  this  title  Cook  obtained  an  excellent 
Spanish  ship.  At  this,  however,  the  French  commanders 
were  secretly  discontented,  and  on  the  first  opportunity  they 
seized  the  ship,  plundered  the  crew,  who  were  Englishmen, 
of  their  arms  and  goods,  and  turned  them  ashore.  The 
French  captain,  Tristian,  either  took  compassion  on  some 
of  the  number,  or  hoped  to  find  them  serviceable ;  for  he 
carried  eight  or  ten  of  them  with  him  to  Petit  Guaves, 
among  whom  were  Cook  and  Davis.  They  had  not  lain 
long  here  when  Captain  Tristian  and  part  of  his  men  being 
one  day  on  shore,  the  English  party,  in  revenge  of  the  late 
spoliation,  overmastered  the  rest  of  the  crew,  took  the  ship, 
and,  sending  the  Frenchmen  ashore,  sailed  for  Isle  a  la 
Vache,  where  they  picked  up  a  straggling  crew  of  English 
Bucaniers,  and  before  they  could  be  overtaken  sailed  for 
Virginia,  where  Dampier  now  was,  taking  two  prizes  by  the 
way,  one  of  which  was  a  French  ship  laden  with  wine. 
Having  thus  dexterously  swindled  Tristian  out  of  his  ship, 
which  might,  however,  be  considered  as  but  a  fair  act  of  re- 
prisal, and  having  afterward  committed  open  piracy  on  the 
French  commerce,  the  West  Indies  was  no  longer  a  safe 
latitude  for  these  English  Bucaniers.  The  wines  were 
therefore  sold  with  the  other  goods  and  two  of  the  ships  ; 
and  the  largest  prize,  which  carried  eighteen  guns,  was 
new-named  the  Revenge,  and  equipped  and  provisioned  for 
a  long  voyage.  Among  her  crew  of  seventy  men  were 
almost  all  the  late  fellow-travellers  across  the  isthmus,  in- 
cluding William  Dampier,  Lionel  Wafer,  the  surgeon,  Am- 
brose Cowley,  who  has  left  an  account  of  the  voyage,  and 
the  commander,  Captain  John  Cook.  Before  embarking  on 
this  new  piiatical  expedition,  they  all  subscribed  certain 
rules  for  maintaining  discipline  and  due  subordination,  and 
for  the  observance  of  sobriety  on  their  long  voyage. 

They  sailed  from  the  Chesapeake  on  the  23d  August, 
1683 ;  captured  a  Dutch  vessel,  in  which  they  found  six 
casks  of  wine  and  a  quantity  of  provisions  ;  and  near  the 
Cape  de  Verd  Islands  encountered  a  storm  which  raged  for 


248  AMBERGRIS FLAMINGOES. 

a  week,  "drenching  them  all  like  so  many  drowned  rats."* 
After  this  gah>  t  hoy  had  the  winds  and  weather  both  favour- 
able, and  anchored  at  the  Isle  of  Sal,  one  of  the  Cape  de 
Verd  group,  so  named  from  its  numerous  salt-ponds. 

A  Portuguese  at  this  place,  by  affecting  the  mystery  which 
gives  so  much  zest  to  clandestine  bargains,  prevailed  with 
one  of  the  Bucaniers  to  purchase  from  him  a  lump  of  what 
he  called  ambergris,  which  Dampier  believed  to  be  spurious. 
Of  the  genuine  substance  Dampier  relates  that  he  was  once 
shown  a  piece  which  had  been  broken  off  a  lump  weighing 
100  Ibs.,  found  in  a  sandy  bay  of  an  island  in  the  Bay  of 
Honduras.  It  was  found  by  a  person  of  credit  (a  Mr.  Bar- 
ker of  London),  lying  dry  above  high-water  mark,  and  in  it 
a  multitude  of  beetles,  f  It  was  of  a  dusky  black  colour, 
the  consistence  of  mellow  ordinary  cheese,  and  of  a  very 
fragrant  scent. 

At  the  Isle  of  Sal,  Dampier  first  saw  the  flamingo.  It  was 
in  shape  like  the  heron,  but  larger,  and  of  a  red  colour. 
The  flamingoes  kept  together  in  large  flocks,  and,  standing 
side  by  side  by  the  ponds  at  which  they  fed,  looked  at  a  dis- 
tance like  a  new  brick  wall.  Their  flesh  was  lean  and  black, 

*  In  this  dreadful  storm,  it  is  related  in  one  edition  of  Dampier's  works 
that  the  ship  was  saved  by  an  odd  but  very  simple  expedient.  The  ship 
was  scudding  before  wind  and  sea  under  bare  poles,  when  by  the  inad- 
vertence of  the  master  she  was  broached  to,  and  lay  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea ;  the  waves  at  that  time  running  tremendously  high,  and  threatening 
to  overwhelm  her,  so  that  if  one  had  struck  on  the  deck  she  must  have 
foundered.  The  person  who  had  committed  this  nearly  fatal  mistake 
xvas  in  a  state  of  distraction,  and  roared  for  any  one  to  cut  away  the 
mizzenmast,  to  give  the  ship  a  chance  of  righting.  All  was  confusion 
and  dismay ;  the  captain  and  the  officer  second  in  command  objecting  to 
this  certainly  hazardous,  and  probably  useless  attempt  to  save  them- 
selves. The  whole  crew  had  given  themselves  up  for  lost,  when  a  sea- 
hian  called  to  Dampier  to  ascend  the  fore-shrouds  with  him ;  this  the 
man  alleged  might  make  the  ship  wear,  as  he  had  seen  the  plan  succeed 
before  now.  As  he  spoke  he  mounted,  and  Dampier  followed  him. 
They  went  half-shrouds  up,  spread  out  the  flaps  of  their  coats,  and  in 
Ihree  minutes  the  ship  wore,  though  such  had  been  the  violence  of  the 
tempest,  that  the  mainsail  having  got  loose,  as  many  men  as  could  lie  on 
it,  assisted  by  all  on  deck,  and  though  the  main  yard  was  nearly  level  with 
the  deck,  were  not  able  to  furl  it. 

t  The  substance  called  ambergris,  at  one  time  regarded  by  chymists 
as  a  kind  of  petrolium  or  mineral  oil,  is  now  ascertained  to  be  an  animal 
production,  which  has  its  origin  in  the  intestinal  canal  of  certain  species 
of  the  whale-tribe.  The  beetles  alluded  to  in  the  text  were  no  doubt 
accidental,  and  their  occurrence  in  the  ambergris  is  accounted  for  by  its 
jposUion  above  high-water  mark. 


BUCANIER    STRATAGEM.  249 

but  not  unsavoury  nor  fishy-tasted.  A  knob  of  fat  at  the 
root  of  the  tongue  "  makes  a  dish  of  flamingoes'  tongues  fit 
for  a  prince's  table." 

From  this  island  they  went  to  St.  Nicholas,  where  the 
governor  and  his  attendants,  though  not  quite  so  tattered  as 
those  seen  at  the  Isle  of  Sal,  were  not  very  splendidly 
equipped.  Here  they  dug  wells,  watered  the  ship,  scrubbed 
its  bottom,  and  went  to  Mayo  to  obtain  provisions ;  but 
were  not  suffered  to  land,  as  about  a  week  before  Captain 
Bond,  a  pirate  of  Bristol,  had  entrapped  the  governor  and 
some  of  his  people,  and  carried  them  away. 

From  the  Cape  de  Verd  Isles  the  Revenge  intended  to 
keep  a  direct  course  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan  ;  but  by  ad- 
verse weather  was  compelled  to  steer  for  the  Guinea  coast, 
which  was  made  in  November,  near  Sierra  Leone.  They 
anchored  in  the  mouth  of  the  river  Sherborough,  near  a  large 
Danish  ship,  which  they  afterward  took  by  stratagem. 
While  in  sight  of  the  Dane,  which  felt  no  alarm  at  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  ship  of  the  size  of  the  Revenge,  most  of  the 
Bucanier  crew  remained  under  deck,  no  more  of  the  hands 
appearing  above  than  were  necessary  to  manage  the  sails. 
Their  bold  design  was  to  board  the  ship  without  discovering 
any  sign  of  their  intention ;  and  the  Revenge  advanced 
closely,  still  wearing  the  resemblance  of  a  weakly-manned 
merchant-vessel.  When  quite  close,  Captain  Cook  in  a  loud 
voice  commanded  the  helm  to  be  put  one  way,  while  by  pre- 
vious orders  and  a  preconcerted  plan  the  steersman  shifted 
it  into  a  quite  opposite  direction  ;  and  the  Revenge,  as  if  by 
accident,  suddenly  fell  on  board  the  Dane,  which  by  this 
dexterous  manoeuvre  was  captured  with  only  the  loss  of  five 
men,  though  a  ship  of  double  their  whole  force.  She  car- 
ried thirty-six  guns,  and  was  equipped  and  victualled  for  a 
long  voyage. 

This  fine  vessel  was  by  the  exulting  Bucaniers  named 
the  Bachelor's  Delight ;  and  they  immediately  burnt  the  Re- 
venge that  she  "  might  tell  no  tales,"  sent  their  prisoners  on 
shore,  and  steered  for  Magellan's  Straits.* 

On  the  voyage  to  the  straits  the  Bachelor's  Delight  en- 
countereo*  frequent  tornadoes,  accompanied  by  thunder, 

*  It  is  proper  to  notice  that  we  owe  these  particulars  to  the  narrative 
of  Cowley.  Dampier  does  not  mention  this  stratagem,  which  he  must 
on  reflection  have  thought  little  to  the  credit  of  the  contrivers. 


250  THE    FALKLAND    ISLANDS. 

lightning,  and  rain.  Many  of  the  men  were  seized  with 
fever,  and  one  man  died.  Having  little  fresh  animal  food 
of  any  kind,  they  caught  sharks  during  the  calms  between 
the  gusts  of  the  tornadoes,  which  they  prepared  by  first 
boiling,  and  afterward  stewing  them  with  pepper  and  vine- 
gar. About  the  middle  of  January  they  lost  one  of  the  sur- 
geons, who  was  greatly  lamented,  as  there  now  remained 
but  one  for  the  long  voyage  which  was  meditated.  On  the 
28th  they  made  John  Davis's  Southern  Islands,  or  the  Falk- 
land Isles, — then,  however,  more  generally  known  as  the 
Sebald  de  Weert  Islands. 

In  the  course  of  their  voyage  Dampier,  who  possessed 
more  geographical  and  nautical  knowledge  than  his  com- 
panions, had  been  persuading  Captain  Cook  to  stop  here  to 
water,  and  afterward  to  prosecute  the  voyage  to  Juan  Fer- 
nandez by  doubling  Cape  Horn,  avoiding  the  straits  alto- 
gether, which,  he  judiciously  says,  "  I  knew  would  prove 
very  dangerous  to  us,  the  rather  because  our  men  being  pri- 
vateers, and  so  more  wilful  and  less  under  command,  would 
not  be  so  ready  to  give  a  watchful  attendance  in  a  passage 
so  little  known.  For  although  these  men  were  more  under 
command  than  I  had  ever  seen  any  privateers,  yet  I  could 
not  expect  to  find  them  at  a  moment's  call  on  coming  to  an 
anchor  or  weighing  anchor."  The  Falkland  Islands  are 
described  by  Dampier  as  rocky  and  barren,  without  trees, 
and  having  only  some  bushes  upon  them.  Shoals  of  small 
lobsters,  which  coloured  the  sea  red  in  spots  for  a  mile  round, 
were  seen  here.  They  were  only  of  the  size  of  the  tip  of  a 
man's  little  finger,  yet  perfect  in  shape,  and  naturally  of  the 
colour  that  other  lobsters  assume  after  they  are  boiled. 

The  advice  of  Dampier  was  not  taken,  but  westerly  wrinds 
prevented  Cook  from  making  the  entrance  of  the  straits,  and 
on  the  6th  February  they  fell  in  with  the  Straits  of  Le 
Maire,  high  land  on  both  sides,  and  the  passage  very  nar- 
row. They  ran  in  for  four  miles,  when  a  strong  tide  set- 
ting in  northward  "  made  such  a  short  cockling  sea,"  which 
ran  every  way,  as  if  in  a  place  where  two  opposing  tides 
meet,  sometimes  breaking  over  the  poop,  sometimes  over 
the  waist  and  the  bow,  and  tossing  the  Bachelor's  Delight 
"  like  an  egg-shell." 

In  the  same  evening  they  had  a  breeze  from  W.  N.  W., 
bore  away  eastward,  and,  having  the  wind  fresh  all  night, 


SOUTH    SEA MOSQUITO    WILLIAM.  251 

passed  the  east  end  of  Staten  Island  next  day.  Our  navi- 
gator on  the  7th  at  noon  found  the  latitude  to  be  54°  52'  S., 
and  the  same  night  they  lost  sight  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and 
saw  no  other  land  till  they  entered  the  South  Sea.  In 
doubling  Cape  Horn  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  catch 
twenty-three  barrels  of  rain-water,  besides  an  abundant 
supply  for  present  consumption. 

On  the  3d  March  they  entered  the  South  Sea  with  a  fair 
fresh  breeze,  which  from  the  south  had  shifted  to  the  east- 
ward. On  the  9th  they  were  in  latitude  47°  10',  and  on  the 
17th  in  latitude  36°,  still  bearing  for  Juan  Fernandez.  On 
the  19th  a  strange  sail  was  seen  to  the  southward  bearing 
full  upon  them,  which  was  mistaken  for  a  Spaniard,  but 
proved  to  be  the  Nicholas  of  London,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Eaton,  fitted  out  as  a  trader,  but  in  reality  a  Bucanier 
ship.  Captain  Eaton  came  on  board  the  Bachelor's  Delight, 
related  his  adventures,  and,  like  a  true  brother,  gave  the 
company  water,  while  they  spared  him  a  supply  of  bread  and 
beef.  Together  they  now  steered  for  Juan  Fernandez,  and 
on  the  23d  anchored  in  a  bay  at  the  south  end  of  the  island, 
in  twenty-five  fathoms  water.  From  Eaton  they  had  heard 
of  another  London  vessel,  the  Cygnet,  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Swan,  which  was  really  a  trader,  and  held  a  license 
from  the  then  lord  high  admiral  of  England,  the  Duke  of 
York,  afterward  James  II.  With  this  ship  the  Nicholas  had 
entered  the  South  Sea,  but  they  had  been  separated  in  a 
gale. 

It  may  be  remembered,  that  when  Captain  Watling  and 
his  company  escaped  from  Juan  Fernandez  three  years 
before,  they  had  left  a  Mosquito  Indian  on  the  island,  who 
was  out  hunting  goats  when  the  alarm  came.  This  Mos- 
quito-man, named  William,  was  the  first  and  the  true  Rob- 
inson Crusoe,  the  original  hermit  of  this  romantic  solitude. 
Immediately  on  approaching  the  island,  Dampier  and  a  few 
of  William's  old  friends,  together  with  a  Mosquito-man 
named  Robin,  put  off  for  the  shore,  where  they  soon  per- 
ceived William  standing  ready  to  give  them  welcome. 
From  the  heights  he  had  seen  the  ships  on  the  preceding 
day,  and  knowing  them  to  be  English  vessels  by  the  way 
they  were  worked,  he  had  killed  three  goats,  and  dressed 
them  with  cabbage  of  the  cabbage-tree,  to  have  a  feast  ready 
on  the  arrival  of  the  ships.  How  great  was  his  delight,  as 


252        ADVENTURES  OF  THE  MOSQUITO-MAN. 

the  boat  neared  the  shore,  when  Robin  leaped  to  the  land, 
and  running  up  to  him,  fell  flat  on  his  face  at  his  feet. 
William  raised  up  his  countryman,  embraced  him,  and  in 
turn  prostrated  himself  at  Robin's  feet,  who  lifted  him  up, 
and  they  renewed  their  embraces.  "  We  stood  with  plea- 
sure," says  Dampier,  "  to  behold  the  surprise,  tenderness, 
and  solemnity  of  their  interview,  which  was  exceedingly 
affecting  on  both  sides  ;  and  when  these  their  ceremonies 
of  civility  were  over,  we  also  that  stood  gazing  at  them 
drew  near,  each  of  us  embracing  him  we  had  found  here, 
who  was  overjoyed  to  see  so  many  of  his  old  friends,  come 
hither,  as  he  thought,  purposely  to  fetch  him." 

At  the  time  William  was  abandoned,  he  had  with  him  in 
the  woods  his  gun  and  knife,  and  a  small  quantity  of  powder 
and  shot.  As  soon  as  his  ammunition  was  expended,  by 
notching  his  knife  into  a  saw,  he  cut  up  the  barrel  of  his 
gun  into  pieces,  which  he  converted  into  harpoons,  lances, 
and  a  long  knife.  To  accomplish  this  he  struck  fire  with 
his  gun-flint  and  a  piece  of  the  barrel  of  his  gun,  which  he 
hardened  for  this  purpose  in  a  way  he  had  seen  practised 
by  the  Bucaniers.  In  this  fire  he  heated  his  pieces  of  iron, 
hammered  them  out  with  stones,  sawed  them  with  his 
jagged  knife,  or  grinded  them  to  an  edge,  and  tempered 
them  ;  "  which  was  no  more  than  these  Mosquito-men 
were  accustomed  to  do  in  their  own  country,  where  they 
make  their  own  fishing  and  striking  instruments  without 
either  forge  or  anvil,  though  they  spend  a  great  deal  of  time 
about  them."  Thus  furnished,  William  supplied  himself 
with  goats'  flesh  and  fish,  though,  till  his  instruments  were 
formed,  he  had  been  compelled  to  eat  seal.  He  built  his 
house  about  a  half-mile  from  the  shore,  and  lined  it  snugly 
with  goat-skins,  with  which  he  also  spread  his  couch  or 
barbecue,  which  was  raised  two  feet  from  the  floor.  As  his 
clothes  wore  out,  he  supplied  this  want  also  with  goat-skins, 
and  when  first  seen  he  wore  nothing  save  a  goat-skin 
about  his  waist.  Though  the  Spaniards,  who  had  learned 
that  a  Mosquito-man  was  left  here,  had  looked  for  William 
several  times,  he  had  always,  by  retiring  to  a  secret  place, 
contrived  to  elude  their  search. 

The  island  of  Juan  Fernandez  was  hilly,  and  intersected 
by  small  pleasant  valleys ;  the  mountains  were  partly  savanna 
and  partly  woodland ;  the  grass  of  the  flat  places  being 


NAUTICAL  REMARKS  OF  DAMPIER.  253 

delicate  and  kindly,  of  a  short  thick  growth,  unlike  the 
coarse  sedgy  grass  of  the  savannas  of  the  West  Indies. 
The  cabbage-tree  was  found  here,  and  well-grown  timber 
of  different  kinds,  though  none  that  was  fit  for  masts. 
There  were  in  the  island  two  bays,  both  at  the  east  end, 
where  ships  might  anchor,  and  into  each  of  them  flowed  a 
rivulet  of  good  water.  Water  was  also  found  in  every 
valley.  Goats,  which  according  to  Dampier  were  originally 
brought  to  the  island  by  the  discoverer,  were  now  found  in 
large  flocks,  and  seals  swarmed  about  the  island  "  as  if  they 
had  no  other  place  in  the  world  to  live  in,  every  bay  and  rock 
being  full  of  them."  Sea-lions*  were  also  numerous,  and 
different  kinds  of  fish  were  found.  The  seals  were  of  dif- 
ferent colours,  —  black,  gray,  and  dun,  with  a  fine  thick 
short  fur.  Millions  of  them  were  seen  sitting  in  the  bays, 
going  or  coining  into  the  sea,  or,  as  they  lay  at  the  top  of 
the  waves,  sporting  and  sunning  themselves,  covering  the 
water  for  a  mile  or  two  from  the  shore.  When  they  come 
out  of  the  sea  "  they  bleat  like  sheep  for  their  young  ;  and 
though  they  pass  through  hundreds  of  others'  young,  yet 
they  will  not  suffer  any  of  them  to  suck."  The  sea-lion  is 
shaped  like  a  seal,  but  is  six  times  as  big,  with  "  great 
oggle  eyes,"  and  teeth  three  inches  long,  of  which  the 

ucaniers  sometimes  made  dice. 

The  Bucaniers  remained  for  sixteen  days  at  this  island 
getting  in  provisions,  and  for  the  recovery  of  the  sick  and 
those  affected  with  scurvy,  who  were  placed  on  shore,  and 
fed  with  vegetables  and  fresh  goats'  flesh,  which  regimen 
was  found  beneficial.  On  the  8th  April  they  sailed  for  the 
American  coast,  which  they  approached  in  24°  S.  ;  but 
stood  off  at  the  distance  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  leagues,  that 
they  might  not  be  observed  from  the  high  grounds  by  the 
Spaniards. 

The  nautical  and  geographical  observations  of  Dampier 
in  this  tract  of  the  Pacific  are  important.  The  land  from 
the  24th  to  the  10th  degree  south  was  of  prodigious  height. 
"  It  lies  generally  in  ridges  parallel  to  the  shore,  and  three 
or  four  ridges,  one  within  another,  each  surpassing  the 
other  in  height  ;  those  that  are  farthest  within  land  being 

*  The  leonine  seal,  so  frequently  mentioned  In  this  volume  as  the  sea- 
iion  scon  by  Cavendish  ami  others. 


g 
B 


254  COOK  AND  EATON  JOIN  FORCES. 

much  higher  than  the  others.  They  always  appear  blue 
when  seen  at  sea."  To  the  excessive  height  of  the 
mountain-ridges  Dampier  imputes  the  want  of  rivers  in 
this  region. 

The  first  capture  of  the  Bucaniers,  made  on  the  3d  of 
May,  was  a  Spanish  ship  bound  to  Lima,  laden  with  timber 
from  Guayaquil  ;  from  which  they  learned  that  it  was 
known  in  the  settlements  that  pirates  were  on  the  coast. 

On  the  9th  they  anchored  at  the  isle  of  Lobos  de  la  Mar 
with  their  prize.  Lobos  de  la  Mar  is  properly  a  cluster  of 
small  islets,  divided  by  narrow  channels.  They  are  sandy 
and  barren,  destitute  of  water,  and  frequented  by  sea-fowl, 
penguins,  and  a  small  black  fowl  that  our  navigator  never 
saw  save  here  and  at  Juan  Fernandez,  which  made  holes  in 
the  sand  for  a  night-habitation.*  This  black  fowl  made 
good  meat.  At  this  place  the  ships  were  scrubbed,  and 
the  prisoners  rigidly  examined,  that  from  their  information 
the  voyagers  might  guide  their  future  proceedings.  Trux- 
illo  was  the  town  at  last  fixed  upon  for  making  a  descent. 
The  companies  of  both  ships  were  mustered,  for  Eaton  and 
Cook  had  now  agreed  to  hunt  in  couples,  and  the  arms 
were  proved.  The  men  amounted  to  108  fit  to  bear  arms, 
besides  the  sick.  Before  they  sailed  on  this  expedition 
three  ships  were  seen  steering  northward.  Cook  stood 
after  one  of  them,  which  made  for  the  land,  and  Eaton  pur- 
sued the  other  two  to  sea,  and  captured  them  on  the  same 
day.  They  contained  cargoes  of  flour  from  Lima  for  the 
city  of  Panama,  whither  they  carried  intelligence  from  the 
governor  of  the  formidable  Bucanier  force  which  now 
threatened  the  coast.  One  of  the  ships  carried  eight  tons 
of  quince-marmalade.  The  Bucaniers  were  deeply  morti- 
fied to  learn  that  they  had  narrowly  missed  a  prize  contain- 
ing 800,000  pieces  of  eight,  which  had  been  landed  at  an 
intermediate  port,  upon  a  rumour  of  English  ships  being 
cruising  off  the  coast  of  Peru. 

The  design  against  Truxillo  was  now  abandoned,  as  they 
learned  that  it  had  lately  been  fortified,  and  a  Spanish  gar- 
rison established  for  its'dcfence  ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
19th  they  sailed  with  their  flour-prizes  for  the  Galapagos 
Islands,  which  they  descried  on  the  31st,  "some  appearing 

•  This  is  described  by  Wood«e  Rogers  as  a  kind  of  teat 


THE  GALAPAGOS  ISLANDS.  255 

on  the  lee-how,  some  on  the  weather-bow,  and  others  right 
ahead."  The  Galapagos  Islands,  mentioned  in  page  50  of 
this  volume,  were  still  very  little  known  at  the  time  the 
Bucaniers  made  this  visit.  They  lie  under  the  equator, 
are  numerous,  and  were  uninhabited,  and  abounded  in 
iguanas  and  large  land-turtle  ;  otherwise  they  are  rocky 
and  barren,  and  mostly  destitute  of  water,*  though  in  some 
of  them  this  article,  so  essential  to  the  mariner,  was  found 
of  excellent  quality  both  in  brooks  and  ponds.  Several  of 
the  isles  are  seven  or  eight  leagues  long,  and  from  three  to 
four  broad,  and  partially  wooded.  Land-turtle  were  found 
here  in  such  multitudes,  that  Dampier  says  "500  or  600  men 
might  subsist  on  them  for  several  months  without  any  other 
sort  of  provision."  Some  of  them  weighed  from  150  to 
200  pounds,  and  were  two  feet  or  two  feet  six  inches  over 
the  callipee,  and  sweet  as  a  young  pullet.  Th*»  islands  also 
abounded  in  sea-turtle, — the  creeks  and  shallows  being 
filled  with  the  turtle-grass  on  which  the  green-turtle  feed. 
The  sea-turtle  were  of  four  kinds, — the  green-turtle,  the 
loggerhead,  the  trunk-turtle,  and  the  hawksbill ;  on  the 
back  of  this  last  species  is  found  the  shell  so  much  valued 
in  commerce.  The  largest,  of  them  afforded  about  three 
pounds  and  a  half  of  this  shell. 

At  the  Galapagos  Isles  the  Bucaniers  remained  for  ten 
days,  and  deposited  a  store  of  their  prize-flour  against  future 
necessity.  Salt  was  found  here,  pigeons  abounded,  the  sea 
teemed  with  fish,  and  the  leaves  of  the  mammee-tiee^  fur- 

*  The  Bucaniers  at  their  first  visit  could  not  discover  how  the  small 
birds,  and  especially  the  turtle-doves,  which  were  here  numerous,  and 
so  tame  that  they  would  light  upon  the  men's  shoulders,  obtained  water. 
On  another  voyage  some  seamen,  lying  under  a  prickly-pear-tree,observed 
an  old  bird  supplying  the  young  ones  with  drink,  by  squeezing  a  liquid 
from  a  small  berry  into  their  bills.  This  liquid  was  found  to  be  slightly 
acid,  and  not  unpleasant  in  taste.  For  drink  at  these  islands,  when  water 
could  not  be  obtained,  the  seamen  chewed  leaves  that  they  gathered, 
which  they  describe  as  of  a  thick  pulpy  consistence. 

t  Mammea  Americana,  Linn.,  of  the  Linncean  class,  and  order  Poly- 
andria,  Monogynia,  and  of  the  natural  family  Guttiferai.  It  is  a  hand- 
some tree,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high,  with  an  elegant  branching  head. 
The  flowers  are  white,  and  sweet-scented.  The  fruit  roundish,  five  or 
six  inches  in  diameter,  enclosing  a  rich  yellow  pulp  within  a  leathery 
rind.  It  is  called  J}bricot-sauva$e  by  the  French,  and,  according  to  Jac- 
quin,  is  eaten  either  in  a  raw  state,  or  cut  into  slices  with  wine  and 
sugar,  or  preserved  in  syrup.  The  skin  and  seeds  are  bitter,  with  a 
Btrong  resinous  flavour.  In  Martinique  tlie  flowers  are  distilled  with 


256  ESCAPE   OF  A  BUCANIER  PARTY. 

nished  them  with  vegetables ;  so  that  the  Galapagos  were 
in  all  respects  well  adapted  for  a  Bucanier  station. 

By  the  advice  of  an  Indian,  one  of  their  prisoners,  the 
Bucaniers  were  induced  to  visit  Ria  Lexa,  his  native  place, 
where  he  promised  them  a  rich  harvest  in  plunder. 

At  Juan  Fernandez  Captain  Cook  had  been  taken  ill ; 
he  now  died  somewhat  suddenly  as  they  stood  off  Cape 
Blanco,  and,  as  a  mark  of  respect,  was  buried  on  shore. 
While  his  men  were  digging  the  grave  they  were  seen  by 
three  Spanish  Indians,  who  held  aloof,  but  asked  them 
many  questions  ;  "  and  one  man,"  says  Dampier,  "  did  not 
stick  to  sooth  them  up  with  as  many  falsehoods,  purposely 
to  draw  them  into  our  clutches  ;  and  at  length  drilled  them 
by  discourse  so  near,  that  our  men  laid  hold  on  all  three  at 
once."  One  escaped  before  the  burial  of  Cook  was  over, 
and  the  other  two  were  taken  on  ship-board.  When  ex- 
amined, notwithstanding  their  pretended  simplicity,  they 
confessed  that  they  had  been  sent  out  as  spies  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Panama,  who  h:ul  recrivrd  int.rllicreiire  of  the  Buc- 
anier  squadron. 

The  voyagers  were  informed  by  these  prisoners  that  large 
herds  of  cattle  were  reared  in  this  neighbourhood,  which 
was  welcome  news  to  seamen  who  had  seen  no  fresh  meat 
since  their  run  from  the  Galapagos.  Two  boats  were  im- 
mediately sent  to  the  shore  with  an  Indian  guide  to  bring 
off  cattle  ;  but  the  enterprise  appeared  dangerous,  and 
Dampier  with  twelve  men  returned  on  board.  Those  who 
were  more  foolhardy,  and  who  even  slept  on  shore,  found 
themselves  next  morning  watched  by  forty  or  fifty  armed 
Spaniards,  and  their  boat  burnt.  The  cowardly  Spaniards, 
afraid  to  come  forward,  still  lurked  in  their  ambush,  and 
one  of  the  seamen  on  landing,  having  noticed  an  insulated 
rock  which  just  appeared  above  water,  they  made  off  for 
this  fortress,  and  holding  fast  by  each  other,  and  wading  to 
the  neck,  they  reached  the  rock,  while  the  Spanish  shot 
whistled  after  them.  In  this  perilous  condition  they  had 
remained  for  seven  hours,  the  tide,  which  was  at  the  ebb 
when  they  took  refuge  here,  rising  around  them,  and  gain- 
ing on  the  rock  so  rapidly,  that  had  not  help  come  from  the 

spirits,  and  made  into  a  liquor  called  Eau  Creole.  May  not  the  mam- 
mee-tree  mentioned  in  the  text  as  furnishing  edible  leaves  be  a  different 
plant  ? 


DESCENT  ON  MANGERA.  257 

sliips,  in  another  hour  they  must  have  been  swept  away. 
The  Spaniard*,  who  relished  bush-fighting  better  than  the 
open  field,  meanwhile  lay  in  wait  for  the  catastrophe  ;  but 
when  the  canoe  from  the  English  ships  bore  off  the  men, 
they  offered  no  resistance. 

The  quarter-master,  Edward  Davis,  was  now  elected 
commander  in  the  room  of  Captain  Cook  ;  and  after  taking 
in  water,  and  cutting  lancewood  for  handles  to  their  oars, 
they  bore  away  for  Ria  Lexa,  and  on  the  23d  July  were 
opposite  the  harbour.  The  situation  of  the  town  is  known 
by  a  high-peaked  volcanic  mountain,  which  rises  within 
three  leagues  of  the  harbour,  but  may  be  seen  at  the  dis- 
tance of  twenty  leagues.  A  small  flat  island,  about  a  mile 
long  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  forms  the  harbour,  in 
which  200  sail  can  ride.  It  may  be  entered  by  a  channel  at 
each  end. 

The  Spaniards  had  here  also  got  the  start  of  the  enemy. 
They  had  thrown  up  a  breastwork  on  a  strong  position,  and 
stationed  sentinels  to  give  instant  alarm ;  and  the  Buca- 
niers,  who  wished  to  surprise  and  plunder,  and  not  to  fight 
against  great  odds,  deemed  it  prudent  to  steer  for  the  Gulf 
of  Amapalla,  an  arm  of  the  sea  running  inland  eight  or  ten 
leagues,  and  made  remarkable  by  two  headlands  at  the  en- 
trance. Point  Casivina  on  the  south  side,  in  latitude  12° 
40"  N.,  and  on  the  north-west  Mount  St.  Michael. 

At  a  previous  consultation,  it  had  been  agreed  that  Cap- 
tain Davis  should  advance  first,  in  two  canoes,  and  endea- 
vour to  seize  some  Indians  to  labour  at  careening  the  ships, 
and  also  a  prisoner  of  better  condition,  from  whom  intelli- 
gence might  be  obtained.  On  the  Island  of  Mangerathe 
padre  of  a  village,  from  which  all  the  other  inhabitants  had 
fled,  was  caught  while  endeavouring  to  escape,  and  with 
him  two  Indian  boys.  With  these  Davis  proceeded  to 
Arnapalla,  where,  having  previously  gained  over  or  fright- 
ened the  priest,  he  told  the  Indians  drawn  up  to  receive  him 
that  he  and  his  company  were  Biscayners,  sent  by  the 
King  of  Spain  to  clear  the  seas  of  pirates,  and  that  his 
business  in  the  bay  of  this  island  was  only  to  careen  his 
ships.  On  this  assurance  Davis  and  his  men  were  well 
received,  and  they  all  marched  together,  strangers  and  na- 
tives, to  church,  which  was  the  usual  place  of  public  nsssm- 
Wji  whether  for  business  or  amusement.  The  images  in 
Y3 


258  SEPARATION  OF  THE   BtJCANIERS. 

the  churches  here,  like  those  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy, 
were  painted  of  the  Indian  complexion  ;  and  the  people, 
under  the  sway  of  their  padres,  lived  in  much  the  same  con- 
dition as  the  tribes  described  on  the  banks  of  the  Tobasco, 
cultivating  maize,  rearing  poultry,  and  duly  paying  the 
priest  his  tithe.  Here,  too,  they  were  indulged  in  masks 
and  other  pastimes,  with  abundance  of  music,  on  saints' 
eves  and  holydays.  "  Their  mirth,"  says  Dampier,  "  con- 
sists in  singing,  dancing,  and  using  many  antic  gestures. 
If  the  moon  shine  they  use  but  few  torches ;  if  not,  the 
church  is  full  of  light.  They  meet  at  these  times  all  sorts 
of  both  sexes.  All  the  Indians  that  I  have  been  acquainted 
with  who  are  under  the  Spaniards  seem  to  be  more  melan- 
choly than  other  Indians  who  are  free  ;  and  at  these  public 
meetings,  when  they  are  in  the  greatest  of  their  jollity, 
their  mirth  seems  to  be  rather  forced  than  real.  Their 
songs  are  very  melancholy  and  doleful  ;  so  is  their  music." 

In  attending  them  to  the  church  under  the  guise  of  friend- 
ship, Davis  intended  to  ensnare  these  unsuspecting  people, 
and  make  them  all  his  prisoners  till  he  had  dictated  his 
own  terms  of  ransom,  the  padre  having,  probably  from  com- 
pulsion, promised  his  aid  in  entrapping  his  flock.  This 
hopeful  project  was  frustrated  by  one  of  the  Bucaniera 
rashly  and  rudely  pushing  a  man  into  the  church  before 
him.  The  alarm  was  given,  the  Indian  fled,  and  his  coun- 
trymen "  sprung  out  of  the  church  like  deer."  Davis  and 
his  men  immediately  fired,  and  killed  a  leading  man  among 
the  natives. 

The  Bucaniers  were,  however,  afterward  assisted  by 
several  of  the  natives  in  storing  the  ships  with  cattle  plun- 
dered from  an  island  in  the  gulf,  belonging  to  a  nunnery  in 
some  distant  place  ;  and,  from  some  feelings  of  remorse, 
on  leaving  this  quarter  Davis  presented  the  islanders  of  Ama- 
palla  with  one  of  his  prize-ships,  and  a  considerable  part  of 
the  cargo  of  flour  which  it  contained.  The  ships  here  broke 
off  consortship.  The  crews  had  quarrelled, — Davis' s  party, 
in  right  of  priority  in  marauding,  claiming  the  largest  share 
of  the  spoils.  Eaton  left  the  gulf  on  the  2d  September, 
and  Davis,  with  whom  Dampier  continued,  on  the  day  fol- 
lowing, having  previously  set  the  padre  on  shore.  They 
stood  for  the  coast  of  Peru,  having  almost  every  day  tor- 
ntjdoes  accompanied  with  thunder  and  lightning, — weather 


LA  PLATA  AND  MANTA.  259 

of  this  kind  generally  prevailing  in  these  latitudes  from 
June  to  November.  When  these  gusts  were  over,  the  wind 
generally  shifted  to  the  west.  Near  Cape  St.  Francisco 
they  had  settled  weather,  and  the  wind  at  south.  About 
this  place  they  again  fell  in  with  Eaton,  who  had  encoun- 
tered terrible  storms.  "  Such  tornadoes  as  he  and  his  men 
had  never  before  seen, — the  air  smelling  very  much  of  sul- 
phur, and  they  fancying  themselves  in  great  danger  of  being 
burnt  by  the  lightning."  Captain  Eaton  had  touched  at 
Cocos  Island,  where  he  laid  up  a  store  of  flour,  and  took  in 
water  and  cocoanuts.  Cocos  Island,  as  described  by  Eaton, 
is  nearly  surrounded  by  rocks ;  but  at  the  north-east  end 
there  is  one  small  and  secure  harbour, — a  brook  of  fresh 
water  flowing  into  it.  The  middle  of  the  island  is  high, 
and  though  destitute  of  trees,  looks  verdant  and  pleasant 
from  the  abundance  of  an  herb  which  the  Spaniards  called 
gramadiel,  growing  upon  the  high  grounds.  Near  the 
shore  all  round  the  island  were  groves  of  cocoas. 

At  the  Island  of  La  Plata,  so  named,  according  to  Dam- 
pier,  from  Sir  Francis  Drake  having  divided  upon  it  the 
plunder  of  the  plate-ship  the  Cacafuego,  the  Bucaniera 
found  water,  though  but  a  scanty  rivulet,  and  plenty  of 
small  sea-turtle.  Captain  Eaton's  company  would  again 
have  joined  their  former  consorts  ;  but  Dampier  relates 
that  Davis's  men,  his  own  comrades,  were  still  so  unrea- 
sonable that  they  would  not  consent  to  new-comers  having 
an  equal  share  of  what  they  pillaged  ;  so  the  Nicholas  held 
southward,  while  the  Bachelor's  Delight  steered  for  Point 
Santa  Elena  in  2°  15'  S.,  pretty  high  but  flat  land,  naked 
of  trees  and  overgrown  with  thistles.  There  was  no  fresh 
water  on  the  point,  and  this  article  the  inhabitants  brought 
from  four  leagues'  distance,  from  the  river  Colanche,  the 
innermost  part  of  the  bay.  Watermelons,  large  and  very 
sweet,  were  the  only  things  cultivated  on  the  point.  Pitch* 
was  the  principal  commodity  of  the  inhabitants.  It  boiled 
out  of  a  hole  in  the  earth  at  five  paces  above  high-water 
mark,  and  was  found  plentifully  at  flood-tide ;  when  first 
obtained  it  was  like  thin  tar,  but  was  boiled  down  to  the  con- 
sistence of  pitch. 

Davis's  men  landed  at  Manta,  a  village  on  the  mainland," 

*  Algatrane,  a  bituminous  earth. 


260  DAVIS  IS   JOINED  BY  CAPTAIN  SWAN*. 

about  three  leagues  to  the  east  of  Cape  San  Lorenzo, 
where  they  made  two  old  women  prisoners,  from  whom  they 
learned  that  many  Bucaniers  had  lately  crossed  the  isthmus 
from  the  West  Indies,  and  were  cruising  on  the  coast  in 
canoes  and  pirogues.  The  viceroy  had  taken  every  precau- 
tion against  this  new  incursion.  On  all  the  uninhabited 
islands  the  goats  had  been  destroyed  ;  ships  were  burned  to 
save  them  from  the  Bucaniers,  and  no  provisions  were 
allowed  to  remain  at  any  place  on  the  coast,  but  such  as 
might  be  required  for  the  immediate  supply  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. Davis  returned  to  La  Plata,  at  a  loss  what  course  to 
take  ;  when,  on  the  2d  October,  he  was  joined  by  the  Cyg- 
net of  London,  commanded  by  Captain  Swan,  who,  ill 
treated  by  the  Spaniards,  and  disappointed  of  peaceful 
traffic,  for  which  he  had  come  prepared  with  an  expensive 
cargo,  had  been  compelled  by  his  men  to  receive  on  board  a 
party  of  Bucaniers,  and  in  self-defence  to  commence  free- 
booter. Before  he  had  adopted  this  course  some  of  his  men 
had  been  killed  by  the  Spaniards  at  Baldivia,  where  he  had 
attempted  to  open  a  trade.  With  this  small  Bucanier 
party,  which  had  come  by  the  Darien,  plundering  by  the 
way,  Swan  fell  in  near  the  Gulf  of  Nicoya.  It  was  led  by 
Peter  Harris,  the  nephew  of  a  Bucanier  commander  of  the 
same  name  who  had  been  killed  in  the  battle  with  the  Span- 
ish ships  in  the  Bay  of  Panama  three  years  before.  Harris 
took  command  under  Swan,  in  a  small  bark  wholly  manned 
by  Bucaniers. 

This  was  a  joyful  meeting  of  old  associates  ;  and  the  de- 
parture of  Eaton  was  now  deeply  regretted,  as  their  united 
force  might  have  ensured  success  to  more  important  under- 
takings than  any  they  had  yet  ventured  to  contemplate. 
While  the  ships  were  refitting  at  La  Plata,  a  small  bark, 
which  Davis  had  taken  after  the  Spaniards  had  set  it  on 
fire,  was  sent  out  to  cruise,  and  soon  brought  in  a  prize  of 
400  tons  burthen,  laden  with  timber,  and  gave  intelligence 
that  the  viceroy  was  fitting  out  a  fleet  of  ten  frigates  to 
sweep  them  from  the  South  Seas.  Again  the  loss  of  Eaton 
was  felt,  and  this  bark  was  despatched  to  search  for  him  on 
the  coast  of  Lima.  It  went  as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Lobos. 
Meanwhile  Swan's  ship,  which  was  still  full  of  English 
goods,  was  put  in  better  fighting-trim,  and  made  fit  to  ac- 
commodate her  additional  crew.  The  supercargo  sold  his 


DESCENT   ON   PAITA.  261 

goods  on  credit  to  every  Bucanier  who  would  purchase, 
taking  his  chance  of  payment,  and  the  bulky  commodities 
which  remained  were  pitched  overboard, — silks,  muslins, 
and  finer  goods,  and  iron  bars  which  were  kept  for  ballast, 
being  alone  retained.  In  lieu  of  these  sacrifices,  the  whole 
Bucaniers  on  board  the  Cygnet  agreed  that  ten  shares  of 
all  booty  should  be  set  aside  for  Swan's  owners. 

The  men-of-war  were  now  scrubbed  and  cleaned,  a  small 
bark  was  equipped  as  a  lireship  ;  and  the  vessel  which  had 
been  cruising  after  Eaton  not  having  returned,  the  squad- 
ron sailed  without  it  on  the  20th  October,  and  on  the  3d 
November  landed  at  Paita,  which  was  found  nearly  aban- 
doned, but  left  without  "  money,  goods,  or  a  meal  of 
victuals  of  any  kind."  They  anchored  before  the  place, 
and  demanded  ransom  for  its  safety,  ordering  in  the  mean 
while  300  pecks  of  flour,  3000  pounds  of  sugar,  25  jars  of 
wine,  and  1000  of  water  to  be  brought  off  to  the  ships  ; 
but,  after  wasting  six  days,  they  obtained  nothing,  and  in 
revenge  burnt  the  town.  The  road  of  Paita  was  one  of  the 
best  in  Peru,  roomy,  and  sheltered  from  the  south-west  by 
a  point  of  land.  The  town  had  no  water  except  what  was 
carried  thither  from  Golan,  from  whence  the  place  was  also 
supplied  with  fruits,  hogs,  plantains,  and  maize.  Dampier 
says,  that  on  this  coast,  from  about  "Cape  Blanco  to 30°  S., 
no  rain  ever  falls  that  he  ever  observed  or  heard  of."  He 
calls  this  range  "  the  dry  country."  Wafer  states  that 
heavy  nightly  dews  fertilize  the  valleys.  The  country 
around  it  was  mountainous  and  steril. 

From  information  obtained  here,  it  was  gathered  that 
Captain  Eaton  liad  been  before  them,  and  had  burned  a 
large  ship  in  the  road,  and  landed  all  his  prisoners.  They 
also  learned  that  a  small  vessel,  which  they  concluded  to 
be  their  own  bark,  had  approached  the  harbour,  and  made 
some  fishermen  bring  out  water. 

Harris's  small  vessel  being  found  a  heavy  sailer,  was 
burned  before  leaving  Paita,  from  which  the  squadron 
steered  for  Lobos  de  Tierra,  and  on  the  14th  anchored 
near  the  east  end  of  the  island,  and  took  in  a  supply  of 
seals,  penguins,  and  boobies,  of  which  they  ate  "very 
heartily,  not  having  tasted  flesh  in  a  great  while  before." 
To  reconcile  his  men  to  what  had  been  the  best  fare  of  the 
crews  of  Drake,  Cavendish,  and  the  earlier  navigators, 


262    FAILURE  OF  THE  ATTEMPT  ON  GUAYAQUIL. 

Captain  Swan  commended  this  food  as  of  extraordinary  deli- 
cacy and  rarity,  comparing  the  seals  to  roasted  pigs,  the 
boobies  to  pullets,  and  the  penguins  to  ducks.  On  the 
19th  the  fleet  reached  Lobos  de  la  Mar,  where  a  letter  was 
found  deposited  at  the  rendezvous  by  the  bark,  which  was 
still  in  search  of  Eaton.  It  was  now  feared  he  had  sailed 
for  the  East  Indies,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  fact. 

Here  the  Mosquito-men  supplied  the  companies  of  both 
ships  with  turtle  ;  while  the  seamen  laboured  to  clean  and 
repair,  and  provide  them  with  firewood,  preparatory  to  an 
attempt  upon  Guayaquil.  For  this  place  they  sailed  on 
the  morning  of  the  29th.  According  to  Dampier,  Guaya- 
quil was  then  one  of  the  chief  ports  of  the  South  Seas. 
The  commodities  it  exported  were  hides,  tallow,  cocoa, 
sarsaparilla,  and  a  woollen  fabric  named  Quito  cloth, 
generally  used  by  the  common  people  throughout  all  Peru. 
The  Bucaniers  left  the  ships  anchored  off  Cape  Blanco, 
and  entered  the  bay  with  their  canoes  and  a  bark.  They 
captured  a  small  vessel  laden  with  Quito  cloth,  the  master 
of  which  informed  them  of  a  look-out  being  kept  at  Puna, 
which  lay  in  their  way,  and  that  three  vessels  with  negro 
slaves  were  then  about  to  sail  from  Guayaquil.  One  of 
these  vessels  they  took  shortly  afterward,  cut  down  her 
mainmast,  and  left  her  at  anchor,  and  next  morning  cap- 
tured the  other  two,  though  only  a  few  negroes  were 
picked  out  of  this  to  them  useless  cargo. 

From  mismanagement,  and  disagreement  between  the 
commanders  and  the  men  in  the  two  ships,  the  expedition 
against  Guayaquil  misgave.  It  was  imagined  that  the 
town  was  alarmed  and  prepared  to  receive  them  warmly  ; 
and  after  having  landed,  lain  in  the  woods  all  night,  and 
made  their  way  with  considerable  difficulty,  they  abandoned 
the  design  before  one  shot  had  been  fired,  and  while  the 
place  lay  full  in  view  of  them  at  a  mile's  distance  without 
manifesting  any  appearance  of  opposition  being  intended. 

Dampier,  whose  ideas  took  a  wider  and  bolder  range 
than  those  of  his  companions,  deeply  lamented  their  ill  con- 
duct upon  the  fair  occasion  which  offered  at  this  time  of 
enriching  themselves  at  less  expense  of  crime  than  in  their 
ordinary  pursuits.  •« Never,"  he  says,  "was  there  put 
into  the  hands  of  men  a  greater  opportunity  to  enrich  them- 
selves." His  bold  and  comprehensive  plan  was,  with  the 


DESCENT   ON   TOMACO.  263 

1000  negroes  found  in  the  three  ships,  to  have  gone  to  St. 
Martha,  and  worked  the  gold-mines  there.  In  the  Indians 
he  reckoned  upon  finding  friends,  as  they  mortally  hated 
the  Spaniards, — for  present  sustenance  they  had  200  tons 
of  flour  laid  up  at  the  Galapagos  Islands, — the  North  Sea 
would  have  been  open  to  them, — thousands  of  Bucaniers 
would  have  joined  them  from  all  parts  of  the  West  Indies, 
and  united  they  might  have  been  a  match  for  all  the  force 
Peru  could  muster,  masters  of  the  richest  mines  in  this 
quarter,  and  of  all  the  west  coast  as  high  as  Quito. 
Whether  Dampier  unfolded  this  "golden  dream"  at  the 
time  does  not  appear.  The  Bucaniers,  at  all  events,  sailed 
to  La  Plata,  where  they  found  the  bark,  and  divided  the 
cloth  of  Quito  equally  between  the  companies  of  Swan  and 
Davis,  converting  the  vessel  in  which  it  had  been  taken 
into  a  tender  for  the  Cygnet. 

This  ship  had  since  joining  depended  almost  wholly 
upon  the  Bachelor's  Delight  for  provisions,  as  it  had 
neither  Mosquito-purveyors  nor  a  store  of  flour ;  and  the 
original  Bucanier  company  of  Davis  now  murmured  loudly 
at  feeding  the  cowards  who  they  alleged  had  balked  the 
attempt  on  Guayaquil.  But  neither  could  afford  to  part 
consortship,  and  they  sailed  in  company  on  the  23d  Decem- 
ber to  attack  Lavelia  in  the  Bay  of  Panama.  In  this 
cruise,  from  the  charts  and  books  found  in  their  prizes, 
they  supplied  the  ignorance  and  deficiencies  of  the  Indians 
and  Spanish  pilots  whom  they  had  as  prisoners  on  board  ; 
these  drafts  being  found  surer  guides.  Their  object  was 
in  the  first  place  to  search  for  canoes, — the  want  of  boats 
being  greatly  felt, — in  rivers  where  the  Spaniards  had  no 
trade  with  the  natives,  nor  settlements  of  any  kind,  as  con- 
cealment was  most  important  to  the  success  of  their  opera- 
tions. In  unfrequented  rivers  where  boats  might  be  found, 
the  coast  abounded  from  the  equinoctial  line  to  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Michael.  When  five  days  out  from  La  Plata,  they 
made  a  sudden  descent  upon  a  village  named  Tomaco, 
where  they  captured  a  vessel  laden  with  timber,  in  which 
was  a  Spanish  knight  with  a  crew  of  eight  Spaniards,  and 
also  took  what  the  Bucaniers  valued  much  more,  a  canoe 
with  twelve  jars  of  good  old  wine.  A  canoe  with  a  party 
that  rowed  six  leagues  farther  up  the  river,  which  Dompier 
named  St.  Jago,  came  to  a  house  belonging  to  a  Spanish 


284  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  BtJCANIERS. 

lady  of  Lima,  whose  servants  at  this  remote  station  traded 
with  the  natives  for  gold.  They  fled  ;  but  the  Bucaniers 
found  several  ounces  of  gold  left  in  their  calabashes.  The 
land  on  the  banks  of  this  river  was  a  rich  black  mould,  pro- 
ducing tall  trees.  The  cotton  and  cabbage-trees  flourished 
here  on  the  banks  ;  and  a  good  way  into  the  interior  In- 
dian settlements  were  seen,  with  plantations  of  maize, 
plantain-walks,  hogs,  and  poultry.  At  Tomaco  a  canoe 
with  three  natives  visited  the  strangers,  whom  they  did  not 
distinguish  from  Spaniards.  They  were  of  middling  stature, 
straight,  and  well-limbed,  "  long-visaged,  thin-faced,  with 
black  hair,  ill-looked  men,  of  a  very  dark  copper  complex- 
ion." The  Bucaniers  presented  them  with  wine,  which 
they  drank  freely. 

On  the  1st  of  January  the  Cygnet  and  Bachelor's 
Delight  sailed  for  the  Island  of  Gallo,  carrying  with  them 
the  Spanish  knight  Don  Pinas,  and  two  canoes.  On  the 
way  one  of  their  boats  captured  the  packet-boat  from  Lima, 
and  fished  up  the  letters  which  the  Spaniards  when  pur- 
sued had  thrown  overboard  attached  to  a  line  and  buoy. 
From  these  despatches  they  learned  the  welcome  and  import- 
ant fact  of  the  Governor  of  Panama  hastening  the  sailing  of 
the  triennial  Plate-fleet  from  Callao  to  Panama,  previous 
to  the  treasure  being  conveyed  across  the  isthmus  to  Porto 
Bello  on  mules.  To  intercept  this  fleet  would  enrich  every 
man  among  them  at  one  stroke ;  and  to  this  single  object 
every  faculty  was  now  bent.  As  a  fit  place  to  careen  their 
ships,  and  at  the  same  time  lie  in  wait  for  their  prey,  they 
fixed  upon  the  Pearl  Islands  in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  for 
which  they  sailed  from  Gallo  on  the  morning  of  the  7th ; 
—two  ships,  three  barks,  a  fireship,  and  two  small  ten- 
ders, one  attached  to  each  ship. 

On  the  8th  they  opportunely  captured  a  bark  with  flour, 
and  then  "joggsd  on  with  a  gentle  gale"  to  Gorgona,  an 
uninhabited  island,  well  wooded,  and  watered  with  brook- 
lets issuing  from  the  high  grounds.  Pearl-oysters  abounded 
here.  They  were  found  in  from  four  to  six  fathoms  water, 
and  seemed  flatter  in  the  shell  than  the  ordinary  eating- 
oyster.  The  pearl  was  found  at  the  head  of  the  oyster, 
between  the  shell  and  the  moat,  sometimes  one  or  two 
pretty  large  in  size,  and  at  other  times  twenty  or  thirty 


SCENERY  OF  THE  BAY  OF  PANAMA.     265 

seed-pearls.     The  inside  of  the  shell  was  "  more  glorious 
than  the  pctirl  itself." 

Landing  most  of  their  prisoners  at  Gorgona,  the  squad- 
ron, now  consisting  of  six  sail,  steered  for  the  Bay  of  Pa- 
rmma,  and  anchored  at  Galera,  a  small,  barren,  uninhabited 
island,  from  whence  they  again  sailed  on  the  25th  to  one 
of  the  southern  Pearl  Islands,  as  a  place  more  suitable  to 
hale  up  and  clean  the  ships.  While  this  was  in  progress, 
the  small  barks  cruised,  and  brought  in  a  prize  laden  with 
beef,  Indian  corn,  and  fowls,  which  were  all  highly  ac- 
ceptable. They  next  took  in  water  and  firewood,  and 
were  at  last  in  fit  order  to  fight  as  well  as  to  watch  the 
Plate-fleet,  which  they  did  cruising  before  Panama,  between 
the  Pearl  Islands  and  the  main  ;  where,  says  Dampier, 
"  it  was  very  pleasant  sailing,  having  the  main  on  one  side, 
which  appears  in  divers  forms.  It  is  beautified  with  many 
email  hills,  clothed  with  wood  of  divers  sorts  of  trees, 
which  are  always  green  and  flourishing.  There  are  some 
few  small  high  islands  within  a  league  of  the  main,  scat- 
tered here  and  there  one,  partly  woody  partly  bare,  and 
they  as  well  as  the  main  appear  very  pleasant."  Most  of 
the  Pearl  Islands  were  wooded  and  fertile  ;  and  from  them 
were  drawn  the  rice,  plantains,  and  bananas-  which  sup- 
plied the  city  of  New  Panama,  "  a  fair  city  standing  close 
by  the  sea,  about  four  miles  from  the  ruins  of  the  old  town," 
-encompassed  behind  with  a  fine  country  of  hill  and 
valley,  beautified  with  groves  and  spots  of  trees,  appearing 
like  islands  in  the  savannas.  The  new  city  had  been  walled 
in  since  the  late  visit  which  Dampier  had  made  it  with 
Sawkins,  Coxon,  and  Sharp,  and  the  walls  were  now 
mounted  with  guns  pointing  seaward. 

As  Davis  lay  nearly  opposite  the  city,  its  supplies  from 
the  islands  were  completely  cut  off;  while  his  people  every 
day  fished,  hunted,  or  pillaged  among  them.  At  this  time 
Davis  negotiated  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  giving  up 
forty,  of  whom  he  was  very  glad  to  be  rid,  in  return  for 
one  of  Harris's  band,  and  a  man  who  had  been  surprised 
by  the  Spaniards  while  hunting  in  the  islands.  Attention 
to  the  safety  of  the  meanest  individual  of  their  company 
was  at  all  times  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Bucaniers ;  and  it  is  stated  on  good  authority,  that  when 
they  first  hunted  in  the  wilds  of  Hispaniola,  if  at  nightfall 
Z 


266  THE  BUCANIERS  REINFORCED. 

one  comrade  was  missing,  all  business  was  suspended  till 
he  was  either  found  or  his  disappearance  satisfactorily 
accounted  for. 

The  Lima  fleet  proved  tardy  in  making  its  appearance, 
and  the  Bucaniers  again  moved,  and  came  to  anchor  near 
Tabago,  an  island  of  the  bay  abounding  in  cocoa  and  mam- 
mee,  and  having  fine  brooks  of  pure  water  gliding  through 
groves  of  fruit-trees.  About  this  time  they  were  nearly  en- 
snared by  the  stratagem  of  a  Spaniard,  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  clandestine  traffic,  sent  a  fireship  among  them  at 
midnight;  but  the  treachery  was  suspected  in  time,  and 
avoided.  This  fireship  had  been  fitted  up  by  the  same 
Captain  Bond  of  whom  they  had  heard  at  the  Cape  de  Verd 
Islands.  He  was  an  English  pirate  who  had  deserted  to 
the  Spaniards. 

The  squadron,  which  had  been  scattered  through  the 
night  from  alarm  of  the  fireship,  had  scarcely  returned  to 
its  station,  and  looked  about  for  the  cut  anchors,  when  the 
freebooters  were  thrown  into  fresh  consternation  by  seeing 
many  canoes  full  of  armed  men  passing  through  an  island- 
channel  and  steering  direct  for  them.  They  also  bore  up  ; 
but  the  strangers  proved  to  be  a  party  of  280  Bucaniers, 
French  and  English,  in  twenty-eight  canoes,  who  had  jusi 
crossed  the  isthmus  on  an  expedition  to  the  South  Sea, 
The  English  seamen,  eighty  in  number,  entered  with  Swan 
and  Davis ;  and  the  flour-prize  was  given  to  the  French 
Flibustiers,  who  entered  it  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Groignet,  their  countryman.  These  strangers  announced 
another  party  of  180,  under  Captain  Townley,  all  English, 
who  were  at  this  time  constructing  canoes  to  bring  them 
down  the  rivers  into  the  South  Sea ;  and  on  the  30th  of 
March  these  joined  the  fleet,  not,  however,  in  canoes,  but 
in  two  ships  which  they  had  taken  as  soon  as  they  entered 
the  bay,  laden  with  flour,  wine,  brandy,  and  sugar.  The 
squadron  was  further  increased  by  the  arrival  of  a  vessel 
under  the  command  of  Mr.  William  Knight ;  and  the  In- 
dians of  Santa  Martha  brought  intelligence  that  yet  another 
strong  party,  French  and  English,  were  on  the  way.  These 
also  arrived,  to  the  number  of  264  men,  with  three  com- 
manders ;  one  of  whom,  Le  Picard,  was  a  veteran  who  had 
served  under  Lolonnois  and  Morgan  at  Porto  Bello. 

The  Bucanicr  force  p.ow  amounted  to  about  1000  men  ; 


SEA-FIGHT  IN  THE  BAY  OF  PANAMA.          267 

and  the  greatest  want  was  coppers  to  cook  provisions  for 
so  many.  The  few  kettles  which  they  had  were  kept  at 
work  day  and  night,  and  a  foraging-party  sent  out  to  bring 
in  coppers. 

From  intercepted  letters  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Lima 
fleet  was  now  at  sea  ;  and  the  design  upon  the  city  was 
suspended  till  the  plate-ships  were  first  secured,  though,  as 
it  chanced,  in  counting  on  their  easy  capture,  the  Bucaniers 
reckoned  without  their  host. 

It  was  now  the  latter  end  of  May,  and  for  six  months  the 
Bucaniers  had  concentrated  their  attention  on  this  single 
enterprise.  Their  fleet  now  consisted  of  ten  sail;  but, 
save  the  Bachelor's  Delight,  which  carried  thirty-six  guns, 
and  the  Cygnet,  which  was  armed,  none  were  of  force, 
though  all  were  fully  manned.  The  Spanish  fleet,  it  was 
afterward  learned,  mustered  fourtetn  sail ;  two  of  forty 
guns,  one  of  thirty-six,  another  of  eighteen,  and  one  of 
eight  guns,  with  large  companies  to  each  ship.  Two  fire- 
ships  attended  the  Spanish  fleet. 

Before  the  Bucaniers  had  finished  consultation  on  their 
plan  of  operation,  the  Spanish  fleet  advanced  upon  them, 
and  battle  was  resolved  on.  And,  "  lying  to  windward  of 
the  enemy,  we  had  it,"  says  Dampier,  "  in  our  choice 
whether  to  fight  or  not.  It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon when  we  weighed,  and  being  all  under  sail,  we  bore 
down  right  afore  the  wind  on  our  enemies,  who  kept  close 
on  a  wind  to  come  to  us  ;  but  night  came  on  without  any 
thing  besides  the  exchanging  of  a  few  shot  on  each  side. 
When  it  grew  dark  the  Spanish  admiral  put  out  a  light  as 
a  signal  for  his  fleet  to  come  to  an  anchor.  We  saw  this 
light  at  the  admiral's  top  for  about  half  an  hour,  and  then  it 
was  taken  down.  In  a  short  time  after  we  saw  the  light 
again,  and  being  to  windward,  we  kept  under  sail,  sup- 
posing the  light  had  been  in  the  admiral's  top  ;  but,  as  it 
proved,  this  was  only  a  stratagem  of  theirs,  for  this  light  was 
put  out  the  second  time  at  one  of  the  barks'  topmast-head, 
and  then  she  was  sent  to  leeward,  which  deceived  us,  for 
we  thought  still  the  light  was  in  the  admiral's  top,  and  by 
that  means  ourselves  to  windward  of  them."  At  daybreak 
the  Bucaniers  found  that  by  this  stratagem  the  Spaniards 
had  got  the  weather-gage  of  them,  and  were  bearing  down 
full  sail,  which  compelled  them  to  run  for  it ;  and  a  running 


26S  ASSAULT  OF  LEON  AND  RIA  LEXA. 

fight  was  maintained  all  day,  till,  having  made  a,  turn 
almost  round  the  bay,  they  anchored  at  night  whence  they 
had  set  out  in  the  morning.  Thus  terminated  their  hopes 
of  the  treasure-ships,  though  it  was  afterward  learned  that 
the  plate  had  been  previously  landed.  The  French  cap- 
tain, Groignet,  had  kept  out  of  the  action,  for  which  he  and 
his  crew  were  afterward  cashiered  by  their  English  asso- 
ciates. The  common  accusation  which  the  English  Buca- 
niers  brought  against  their  allies  was  reluctance  to  fight ; 
while  the  latter  blamed  their  indecent  contempt  of  the  -Ca- 
tholic religion,  displayed  as  often  as  they  entered  the  Span- 
ish churches,  by  hacking  and  mutilating  every  thing  with 
their  cutlasses,  and  firing  their  pistols  at  the  images  of  the 
saints.  Next  morning  the  Spanish  fleet  was  seen  at  anchor 
three  leagues  to  the  leeward,  and  AS  the  breeze  sprung  up 
it  stood  away  for  Panama,  contented  with  safety  and  the 
small  advantage  obtained  on  the  former  day.  The  Boca- 
niers  were  equally  well  satisfied  to  escape  a  renewed  en- 
gagement, and  after  consultation  they  bore  away  for  the 
Keys  of  Quibo  to  seek  Harris,  who  had  been  separated 
from  them  in  the  battle  or  flight.  At  this  appointed  ren- 
dezvous they  met  their  consort,  and  a  fresh  consultation 
made  them  resolve  to  march  inland  and  assault  Leon,  first 
securing  the  port  of  Rta  Lexa,. 

The  assault  and  conquest  of  these  places  offers  nothing 
of  interest  or  novelty ;  they  were  carried  by  the  united 
Bucanier  force,  amounting  to  640  men,  with  eight  vessels, 
three  of  them  being  tenders,  and  one  a  fireship.  In  this 
assault  Dampier  was  left  with  60  men  to  guard  the  canoes 
in  which  the  party  had  been  landed.  At  Leon  they  lost  a 
veteran  Bucanier  of  the  original  breed,  whom  Dampier  thus 
eulogizes  :  "  He  was  a  stout  old  gray-headed  man,  aged 
about  eighty-four,  who  had  served  under  Oliver  (Cromwell) 
in  the  Irish  rebellion  ;  after  which  he  was  at  Jamaica,  and 
had  followed  privateering  ever  since.  He  would  not  accept 
the  offer  our  men  made  him  to  tarry  ashore,  but  said  he 
would  venture  as  far  as  the  best  of  them  ;  and  when  sur- 
rounded by  the  Spaniards,  he  refused  to  take  quarter,  but 
discharged  his  gun  among  them,  keeping  a  pistol  still 
charged  ;  so  they  shot  him  dead  at  a  distance.  His  name 
was  Swan.  He  was  a  very  merry,  hearty  old  man,  and 
always  used  to  declare  he  would  never  take  quarter." 


THE  SQUADRON  SEPARATES.  269 

A  Mr.  Smith,  a  merchant  or  supercargo,  who  had  sailed 
with  Captain  Swan  from  London  to  trade  in  the  South  Sea, 
was  made  prisoner  on  the  inarch  to  Leon.  This  city,  situ- 
ated near  the  Lake  of  Nicaragua,  Dampier  describes  as  one 
of  the  most  healthy  and  pleasant  in  all  South  America.  No 
sooner  were  the  Bucaniers  masters  of  it  than  they  demanded 
a  ransom  of  300,000  dollars,  which  was  promised  but  never 
paid  ;  and  becoming  suspicious  that  the  Spaniards  were 
dallying  with  them  merely  to  gain  time  and  draw  their  force 
to  a  head,  the  town  was  set  on  fire,  and  they  returned  to 
the  coast,  first  supplying  themselves  with  beef,  flour,  pitch, 
tar,  cordage,  and  whatever  Leon  or  Ria  Lex  a  afforded.  One 
Spanish  gentleman,  who  had  been  released  on  engaging  to 
send  in  150  head  of  cattle,  redeemed  his  parole  with  scru- 
pulous honour.  Mr.  Smith  was  exchanged  for  a  female 
prisoner,  and  Ria  Lexa  was  left  burning. 

The  Bucanier  squadron  now  separated,  and  the  fraternity 
broke  into  several  small  detachments,  Dampier  choosing  to 
follow  Captain  Swan,  who  intended  first  to  cruise  along 
the  shores  of  Mexico,  the  country  of  the  mines,  and  then, 
sailing  as  high  as  the  south-west  point  of  California,  cross 
the  Pacific,  and  return  to  England  by  India.  This  plan 
presented  many  temptations  to  Dampier,  whose  curiosity 
and  thirst  of  knowledge  were  insatiable  ;  and  he  might  also 
have  shared  in  the  hopes  of  his  comrades,  who  promised 
themselves  a  rich  booty  in  the  towns  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  mines  before  they  turned  their  faces  westward.  Cap- 
tain Townley  had  kept  by  Swan  when  they  separated  from 
Eaton,  and  each  ship  had  now  a  tender  belonging  to  it. 
They  put  to  sea  on  the  3d  September,  and  encountered  fre- 
quent and  fierce  tornadoes  till  near  the  end  of  the  month. 
Early  in  October  they  were  off  the  excellent  harbour  of 
Gautalco,  the  mouth  of  which  may  be  known  by  a  great 
hollow  rock,  from  a  hole  in  which  every  surge  makes  the 
water  spout  up  to  a  considerable  height,  like  the  blowing 
of  a  whale. 

From  the  sea  the  neighbouring  country  looked  beautiful. 
Here  they  found  some  provisions,  and  landed  their  sick  for 
a  few  days. 

The  Cygnet  and  her  consort  advanced  slowly  along  ths 
coast,  landed  near  Acapulco,  plundered  a  carrier  who 
conducted  sixty  laden  mules,  and  killed  eighteen  beeves. 
Z2 


270  CAPTURE    OF    ST.    PECAQUE. 

They  next  passed  on  to  Colima,  their  object  being  that 
tempting  prize  which  for  generations  had  quickened  the 
avarice  of  maritime  adventurers — the  Manilla  ship, — for 
which  they  kept  watch  at  Cape  Corientes.  After  quitting 
Ria  Lexa,  many  of  the  men  had  been  seized  with  a  malig- 
nant fever  ;  and  as  the  same  kind  of  disease  broke  out  in 
Davis's  squadron,  it  was  with  some  feasibility  imputed  to 
infection  caught  at  the  place  mentioned,  where  many  of 
the  inhabitants  had  been  carried  off  by  a  disorder  of  the 
same  kind  some  months  before  the  Bucaniers  visited  the 
town. 

To  victual  the  ship  for  the  long  voyage  in  view  was  one 
main  object  of  the  continued  cruise  of  Captain  Swan  on  this 
coast ;  but  the  attempts  made  for  this  purpose  were  often 
baffled  with  loss ;  and  so  much  time  had  now  elapsed,  that 
it  was  concluded  the  Manilla  ship  had  eluded  their  vigilance. 
About  the  beginning  of  January,  Townley  left  them  in  the 
Bay  of  Vanderas,  and  returned  towards  Panama,  carrying 
home  a  few  Indians  of  the  Darien  who  had  accompanied 
Swan  thus  far.  The  Mosquito-men  remained  in  the  Cygnet. 

To  obtain  provisions,  Swan  captured  the  town  of  St.  Pe- 
caque,  on  the  coast  of  New  Gallicia,  where  large  stores 
were  kept  for  supplying  the  slaves  who  worked  in  the  neigh- 
bouring mines.  He  brought  off  on  the  first  day  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  provisions  on  horseback,  and  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  men.  These  visits  were  repeated,  a  party  of 
Bucaniers  keeping  the  town,  till  the  Spaniards  had  collected 
a  force.  Of  this  Captain  Swan  gave  his  men  due  warning, 
exhorting  them,  on  their  way  to  the  canoes  with  the  bur- 
dens of  maize  and  other  provisions  which  they  carried,  to 
keep  together  in  a  compact  body  ;  but  they  chose  to  follow 
their  own  course,  every  man  straggling  singly,  while  lead- 
ing his  horse,  or  carrying  a  load  on  his  shoulders.  They 
accordingly  fell  into  the  ambush  the  Spaniards  had  laid  for 
them,  and  to  the  amount  of  fifty  were  surprised,  and  merci- 
lessly butchered.  The  Spaniards,  seizing  their  arms  and 
loaded  horses,  fled  with  them  before  Swan,  who  heard  the 
distant  firing,  could  come  to  the  assistance  of  his  men. 
Fifty-four  Englishmen  and  nine  blacks  fell  in  this  affair, 
which  was  the  most  severe  the  Bucaniers  had  encountered 
in  the  South  Sea.  It  is  in  consonance  with  the  spirit  of  that 
age  to  find  Dampier  relating  that  Captain  Swan  had  been 


DAMPIER'S  SICKNESS.  271 

Warned  of  this  disaster  by  his  astrologer.*  Many  of  the 
men  had  also,  he  states  in  his  manuscript  journal,  foreboded 
this  misfortune,  and  in  the  previous  night,  while  lying  in 
the  church  of  St.  Pecaque,  *'  had  been  disturbed  by  grievous 
groan  ings,  which  kept  them  from  sleeping." 

This  disheartening  affair  determined  Swan  and  his  di- 
minished company  to  quit  this  coast ;  and  they  accordingly 
steered  for  Cape  St.  Lucas,  the  south  point  of  California,  to 
careen,  and  to  refresh  themselves  before  crossing  the  Pa- 
cific ;  but  by  adverse  winds  were  compelled  to  put  into  a 
bay  at  the  east  end  of  the  middle  island  of  the  Tres  Marias, 
where  they  found  iguanas,  rackoons,  rabbits,  pigeons,  and 
deer,  fish  of  various  kinds,  turtle,  and  seals.  There  they 
careened  the  ship,  divided  and  stowed  the  provisions  be- 
tween it  and  the  tender,  and  went  over  to  the  mainland  for 
water,  having  previously  landed  the  prisoners  and  pilots, 
who  were  now  of  no  use,  save  to  consume  provisions. 
That  they  were  abandoned  on  an  uninhabited  island  is  said 
to  have  been  in  revenge  of  the  fatal  affair  of  St.  Pecaque. 

While  they  lay  here  Dampier,  who  had  escaped  the  con- 
tagious fever,  languished  under  a  dropsical  complaint,  of 
which  several  of  the  men  had  died.  The  method  of  cure 
was  singular,  but  the  patient  believed  it  successful.  "  I 
was,"  he  says,  "  laid  and  covered  all  but  my  head  in  the 
hot  sand  :  I  endured  it  near  half  an  hour,  and  was  then  taken 
out,  and  laid  to  sweat  in  a  tent :  I  did  sweat  exceedingly 
while  I  was  in  the  sand,  and  I  do  believe  it  did  me  much 
good,  for  I  grew  well  soon  after." 

While  careening  the  ship,  Swan  had  more  fully  laid  be- 
fore his  company  his  plan  of  going  to  the  East  Indies,  hold- 
ing put  to  them  hopes  of  plunder  in  a  cruise  among  the 
Philippines.  Dampier  describes  many  of  them  as  so  igno- 
rant that  they  imagined  it  impossible  to  reach  India  from 
California  ;  others  entertained  more  reasonable  fears  of 
their  provisions  failing  before  they  could  reach  the  La- 
drones,  f  Maize,  and  the  fish  which  the  Mosquito-men 

*  It  was  then  customary  before  undertaking  a  voyage  to  consult  an 
astrologer. 

t  The  discussion  about  the  homeward  voyage  at  this  time  led  Dampier 
into  speculations  upon  a  north-west  passage,  which  shows  him  to  have 
been  as  a  navigaior  far  in  advance  of  his  age.  "  All  our  countrymen," 
he  says,  "  that  have  cone  to  discover  the  north-west  passage  have  gone 
to  tbe  westward.  Were  I  to  attempt  a  north- west  passage,  I  would  go 


272        THE    CYGNET    CROSSES    THE    PACIFIC. 

caught,  some  of  which  were  salted  for  store,  now  consti- 
tuted the  whole  provision  of  above  150  men,  and  of  this  but 
a  short  allowance  could  be  afforded  daily,  calculating  on  a 
run  of  at  least  sixty  days. 

On  the  31st  March,  having  all  agreed  to  attempt  the 
voyage,  and  consented  to  the  straitened  allowance,  the 
Cygnet  and  the  tender  commanded  by  Captain  Teat  sailed 
from  the  American  coast,  steering  south-west  till  she  arrived 
at  13°  N.,  in  which  parallel  she  held  due  west  for  the  La- 
drones.  The  men  received  but  one  meal  a  day,  and  there 
was  no  occasion,  Dampier  says,  to  call  them  to  their  victuals, 
which  were  served  out  by  the  quarter-master  with  the  exact- 
ness of  gold.  Two  dogs  and  two  cats  which  were  on  board 
soon  learned  to  attend  daily  for  their  respective  shares. 

The  Cygnet  enjoyed  a  fair  fresh-blowing  trade-wind,  and 
went  on  briskly,  which  was  some  consolation  for  scanty  fare. 
At  the  end  of  twenty  days  they  had  made  so  much  pro- 
gress that  the  men  began  to  murmur  at  being  still  kept  upon 
such  short  allowance  ;  and  by  the  time  they  reached  Gua- 
han  they  were  almost  in  open  mutiny,  and  had,  it  was  said, 
resolved  to  kill  and  eat  Swan  in  the  first  place,  and  after- 
ward in  regular  order  all  who  had  promoted  this  voyage ! 
In  the  long  run  of  5000  miles  they  had  seen  no  living 
thing,  whether  bird,  fish,  or  insect,  save  in  longitude  18° 
a  flock  of  boobies,  presumed  to  be  the  denizens  of  some 
cliffs  or  islands,  though  none  were  seen.  On  the  21st  of 
May,  near  midnight,  they  had  the  happiness  of  coming  to 
anchor  on  the  west  side  of  Guahan,  about  a  mile  from  the 
shore,  after  a  run  which  Dampier  calculated  at  7302  miles. 
At  this  island  the  Spaniards  had  a  small  fort  and  a  garrison 
of  thirty  men.  Presuming  that  the  Cygnet  was  a  Spanish 
vessel  from  Acapulco,  a  priest  came  off,  and  was  detained 
as  a  hostage  till  terms  of  obtaining  provisions  were  ar- 

first  to  the  South  Seas,  bend  my  course  from  thence  along  by  California, 
and  that  way  seek  a  passage  into  the  western  seas.  It  I  succeeded  in 
my  attempt,  I  should  then  be  without  that  dread  which  others  must  have 
had  of  passing  from  a  known  to  an  unknown  region  ;  and  which,  it  is  not 
improbable,  obliged  them  to  relinquish  the  pursuit  just  as  they  were  on 
the  eve  of  accomplishing  their  designs."—"  Were  I,"  he  says  again.  "  to 
be  employed  in  search  of  a  north-east  passage,  I  would  winter  about 
Japan,  Corea,  or  the  north-east  part  of  China;  and,  taking  the  spring: 
and  summer  before  me,  make  my  first  trial  on  the  coast  of  Tartar)', 
wherein  if  I  succeeded,  I  should  come  into  some  known  part,  and  nave  a 
great  deal  of  time  before  me." 


SPANIARDS    AND   INDIANS    OF    GUAHAN.         273 

Tanged ;  and,  as  these  were  dictated  by  fair  principles  of 
exchange,  no  difficulty  was  experienced,  both  the  Spaniards 
and  the  few  natives  on  the  island  gladly  bringing  their 
goods  to  a  safe  and  profitable  market. 

The  natives  and  the  Spaniards  here  lived  in  a  state  of 
constant  hatred,  if  not  in  open  hostility  ;  and  Captain 
Eaton,  who  had  touched  at  Guahan  on  his  voyage  to  India, 
after  parting  with  Davis  on  the  coast  of  Peru,  had  been  in- 
stigated by  the  governor  to  plunder  and  practise  every  cru- 
elty upon  the  islanders.  This  advice  neither  himself  nor 
his  men  were  slow  to  follow.  "  He  gave  us  leave,"  says 
Cowley's  manuscript  narrative  of  the  voyage,  "  to  kill  and 
take  whatever  we  could  find  in  one-half  of  the  island  where 
the  rebels  lived.  We  then  made  wars,"  as  Cowley  chooses 
to  term  wanton  unprovoked  aggression,  "  with  these  infi- 
dels, and  went  on  shore  every  day,  fetching  provisions  and 
firing  among  them  wherever  we  saw  them ;  so  that  the 
greater  part  of  them  left  the  island*  The  Indians  sent  two 
of  their  captains  to  treat  with  us,  but  we  would  not  treat 
•with  them.  The  whole  land  is  a  garden." 

Dampier  reckons  that  at  this  time  there  were  not  above 
100  Indians  on  the  whole  island,  as  most  of  those  who  had 
escaped  slaughter  destroyed  their  plantations,  and  went  to 
other  islands,  remote  from  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
Spaniards  and  their  new  allies  the  Bucaniers.  While  a 
friendly  and  brisk  trade  was  going  on  between  the  shore  and 
the  Cygnet,  the  Acapulco  vessel  came  in  sight  of  the  island, 
but  was  warned  off  in  time  by  the  governor,  without,  luckily 
for  herself,  having  been  descried  by  the  Bucaniers.  In  the 
eagerness  of  flight  she  ran  upon  a  shoal,  where  her  rudder 
was  struck  off,  nor  did  she  get  clear  for  three  days.  As 
soon  as  the  natives  informed  the  Bucaniers  of  this  prize, 
they  "  were  in  a  great  heat  to  be  after  her ;"  but  Swan, 
who  disliked  his  present  vocation,  and  still  hoped  to  open 
an  honest  traffic  at  Manilla,  though  he  found  it  prudent 
under  present  circumstances  to  keep  this  design  secret,  per- 
suaded, or  as  probably  frightened,  his  wild  crew  out  of  this 
humour  by  representing  the  dangers  of  the  chase. 

Suitable  presents  were  exchanged  between  the  governor 
and  the  priest  and  the  English  captain,  and  preparations 
made  to  depart.  Here  Dampier  first  saw  the  bread-fruit, — 
the  staff  of  life  of  so  many  of  the  insulated  tribes  of  Poly- 


274  THE    BUCANIERS    REACH    MINDANAO. 

nesia.  Of  the  fiying-proas,  or  sailing-canoes  of  these 
islands,  so  often  described,  he  expresses  the  highest  admira- 
tion. "  I  believe,"  he  says,  "  they  sail  the  best  of  any  boats 
in  the  world  ;"  one  that  he  tried  would,  he  believed,  **  run 
24  miles  an  hour  ;"  and  one  had  been  known  to  go  from 
Guahan  to  Manilla,  a  distance  of  480  leagues,  in  fourdaya. 

It  took  the  Cygnet  19  days  to  reach  the  coast  of  Min- 
danao, for  which  she  sailed  on  the  2d  June  ;  and  after  beat- 
ing about  through  several  channels  and  islands,  she  came  to 
anchor  on  the  18th  July  opposite  the  river's  mouth,  and  be- 
fore the  city  of  Mindanao.  They  hoisted  English  colours, 
and  fired  a  salute  of  seven  or  eight  guns,  which  was  re- 
turned from  the  shore  by  three.  The  island  of  Mindanao 
was  divided  into  small  states,  governed  by  hostile  sultans, 
the  governor  of  this  territory  and  city  being  the  most  power- 
ful of  their  number.  The  city  stood  on  the  hanks  of  the 
river,  about  two  miles  from  the  sea.  It  was  about  a  mile 
in  length,  but  narrow,  and  winded  with  the  curve  of  the 
stream.  The  houses  were  built  on  posts  from  fourteen  to 
twenty  feet  high  ;  and  as  this  was  the  rainy  season,  they 
looked  as  if  standing  in  a  lake,  the  inhabitants  plying  about 
frooi  house  to  house  in  canoes.  They  were  of  one  story, 
which  was  divided  into  several  rooms,  and  were  entered  by 
a  ladder  or  stair  placed  outside.  The  roofs  were  covered 
with  palm  or  palmetto  leaves.  There  was  a  piazza,  gene- 
rally lying  in  a  state  of  great  filth,  under  each  house,  some 
of  them  serving  for  poultry -yards  and  cellars.  "  But  at  the 
time  of  the  land-floods  all  is  washed  very  clean."  The 
floors  were  of  wicker-work  of  bamboo. 

Captain  Swan  had  many  reasons  for  desiring  to  cultivate 
the  friendship  of  the  ruling  powers  at  Mindanao.  Imme- 
diately after  the  Cygnet  came  to  anchor,  Rajah  Laut,  the 
brother  and  prime  minister  of  the  sultan,  and  the  second 
man  in  the  state,  came  off  in  a  canoe,  rowed  with  ten  oars, 
to  demand  whence  they  were.  One  of  the  sultan's  sons, 
who  spoke  the  Spanish  language,  accompanied  his  uncle. 
When  informed  that  the  strangers  were  English,  they  were 
welcomed,  though  Rajah  Laut  appeared  disappointed  that 
they  were  not  come  to  establish  a  factory,  for  which  propo- 
sals had  already  been  made  to  him  by  the  East  India 
Company.  The  conversation  was  carried  on  by  Mr. 
fimith,  the  late  prisoner  at  Ria  Lexa,  and  the  sultan's  son, 


VISIT   TO    THE    SULTAN.  275 

who  with  his  uncle  remained  all  the  while  in  the  canoe. 
They  promised  to  assist  the  English  in  procuring  provisions, 
and  were  rowed  off  without  more  passing  at  this  time. 

Dampier  regrets  that  the  offer  of  a  settlement  here  was 
not  accepted,  "  by  which,"  he  says,  "  we  might  better  have 
consulted  our  own  profit  and  satisfaction  than  by  the  other 
roving  loose  way  of  life  ;  so  it  might  probably  have  proved 
of  public  benefit  to  our  nation,  and  been  a  means  of  intro- 
ducing an  English  settlement  and  trade,  not  only  here,  but 
through  several  of  the  Spice  Islands  which  lie  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood." They  had  not  lain  long  here  when  they  re- 
ceived another  invitation  to  settle  in  a  different  island,  the 
sultan  of  which  sent  his  nephew  to  Mindanao  to  negotiate 
secretly  with  Captain  Swan. 

The  Cygnet's  company  had  not  been  aware  of  the  dignity 
of  their  first  visiters  till  they  were  gone,  when  the  govern- 
ment-officer informed  them  ;  who,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  ports  of  China  and  other  parts  in  the  East,  came  on 
board  to  measure  the  ship, — a  practice  of  which  Dampier 
could  not  conceive  the  reason,  unless  the  natives  wished  to 
improve  their  knowledge  of  ship-building. 

In  the  same  afternoon  Captain  Swan  sent  Mr.  More,  one 
of  the  supercargoes,  to  the  city  with  a  present  for  the  sultan, 
consisting  of  three  yards  of  scarlet  cloth,  three  yards  of 
broad  gold-lace,  a  Turkish  scimitar,  and  a  pair  of  pistols  ; 
and  to  the  Rajah  Laut,  the  dignitary  they  had  already  seen, 
three  yards  of  the  same  cloth  with  silver-lace.  After  some 
preliminary  ceremonies,  the  English  envoy  was  at  night  ad- 
mitted to  an  audience,  to  which  he  was  conducted  by  armed 
men,  accompanied  by  servants  bearing  torches.  The  sultan, 
with  ten  privy-counsellors  all  seated  on  carpets,  awaited  his 
arrival.  The  present  was  graciously  accepted,  a  conference 
took  place  in  Spanish,  after  which  Mr.  More  and  his  attend- 
ants, being  first  treated  with  supper,  returned  on  board. 
Next  day  Captain  Swan  was  invited  on  shore,  whither  he 
went,  preceded  by  two  trumpeters.  He  was  conducted  to 
an  audience,  and  entertained  with  betel  and  tobacco.  Two 
letters  were  shown  him,  sent  by  East  India  merchants  to 
the  sultan,  demanding  liberty  to  build  a  factory  and  fort, 
and  specifying  the  terms  of  traffic,  rates  of  exchange,  and 
of  weights  and  measures.  One  letter  was  beautifully  writ- 
ten, and  between  each  line  there  was  drawn  a  line  of  gold. 


276  RAJAH   LATJT. 

Another  letter,  left  by  a  Captain  Goodlud,  who  had  lately 
visited  Mindanao,  and  directed  generally  to  any  of  the  Eng- 
lish who  might  touch  there,  concluded,  "  Trust  none  of 
them,  for  they  are  all  thieves ;  but  tace  is  Latin  for  a 
candle." 

After  the  interview  with  the  sultan,  Captain  Swan  visited 
Rajah  Laut,  who,  being  rather  in  disgrace  with  his  brother 
at  this  time,  had  not  been  present  at  the  audience.  He 
entertained  the  English  captain  with  boiled  fowls  and  rice, 
and  strongly  urged  him  to  bring  the  ship  into  the  river,  as 
stormy  weather  was  at  this  season  to  be  expected.  He 
also  advised  him  to  warn  his  men  against  offending  the 
natives  by  infringing  their  customs,  and  altogether  appeared 
very  familiar  and  friendly.  To  impress  Swan  with  an  idea 
of  his  justice,  he  ordered  a  man  who  had  fonnerly  robbed 
Captain  Goodlud  to  be  now  punished  ;  and  the  miserable 
wretch  was  accordingly  publicly  exposed  bound  to  a  post, 
and  stripped  naked  with  his  face  opposite  the  scorching  sun, 
while  he  was  shifted  round  and  kept  in  torture,  following 
its  course  all  day,  stung  by  the  gnats  and  mosquitoes.  This 
was  a  usual  mode  of  punishment.  His  life  was  at  night- 
fall left  at  the  mercy  of  the  English  captain,  who  informed 
Rajah  Laut  that  he  had  no  right  to  take  cognizance  of  any 
crime  which  had  not  been  committed  by  his  own  men  and 
in  his  own  ship. 

The  letters  from  the  company's  agents,  by  convincing 
Swan  that  there  was  a  serious  intention  of  establishing  a 
factory  at  this  place,  gave  him  confidence  to  enter  the  river, 
trusting  also  to  the  friendly  professions  of  Rajah  Laut. 
The  Cygnet  was  accordingly  lightened  of  part  of  her  cargo, 
and,  with  the  help  of  sixty  native  fishermen,  Rajah  Laut 
directing  their  operations  in  person,  she  crossed  the  bar 
with  the  first  springtide,  and  was  moored  within  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  The  Bucaniers  remained  here  so  long  upon 
a  footing  of  daily  intimate  intercourse  with  the  townspeople, 
that  Dampier  has  been  enabled  to  give  a  very  full  and 
minute  account  of  the  Mindanaians.  A  singular  custom 
of  the  country  facilitated  easy  intercourse  with  the  natives, 
though  seamen,  having  their  pockets  stored  with  gold  and 
their  ships  with  desirable  commodities,  who  are  neither 
suspected  of  any  sinister  intention  by  the  people  nor 
viewed  with  jealousy  by  the  government,  have  rarely  found 


THE  BUCANIERS  AT  MINDANAO.  277 

the  half-civilized  tribes  of  the  Indian  islands  difficult  of 
access. 

The  custom  common  in  the  South  Sea  islands  of  ex- 
changing names  and  forming  a  comradeship  with  a  native, 
whose  house  is  thenceforward  considered  the  home  of  the 
stranger,  extended  in  Mindanao  to  the  other  sex,  and  "  an 
innocent  platonic  female  friend,  named  a  pagally"  was 
offered  to  each  of  the  Englishmen,  besides  his  male  com- 
rade. These  friendships  were,  however,  not  so  perfectly 
disinterested  as  not  to  require  the  cement  of  presents  on 
the  one  side  and  flatteries  on  the  other.  In  Mindanao,  as 
in  more  refined  parts  of  the  world,  those  who  were  best 
dressed  and  furnished  with  gold  the  most  readily  obtained 
companions  and  pagallies.  Under  the  sanction  of  this  sin- 
gular national  custom  the  wives  of  the  greatest  men  might 
choose  friends  among  the  strangers,  or  be  selected  as  pagal- 
lies, and  allowed  to  converse  in  public  with  the  persons 
who  distinguished  them  by  their  choice. 

On  their  first  arrival, — for  they  soon  declined  in  favour, 
owing  probably  to  their  own  reckless  and  dissolute  manners, 
— the  seamen  could  not  pass  along  the  streets  without  being 
compelled  to  enter  the  houses,  where  they  were  presented 
with  betel  and  tobacco,  the  cordial  hospitality  of  the  givers 
atoning  for  the  scantiness  of  this  oriental  entertainment. 
To  express  the  vivacity  and  degree  of  their  affection,  the 
natives  would  place  the  forefingers  of  both  hands  close 
together,  saying  the  English  and  themselves  were  like  this  ; 
the  Dutch  were  signified  by  holding  the  same  fingers  six 
inches  apart,  and  the  Spaniards  at  double  that  distance. 
Captain  Swan,  who  still  had  a  large  quantity  of  iron  and 
lead,  as  well  as  other  goods  belonging  to  his  owners,  mean- 
while traded  with  Rajah  Laut,  at  whose  house  he  dined 
every  day  till  he  established  himself  at  a  dwelling  which 
he  hired  in  the  town.  Those  of  the  Bucaniers  who  had 
money  also  took  houses  on  shore,  lived  a  jovial  life  among 
their  comrades  and  pagallies,  and  hired  female  servants 
from  their  masters  as  temporary  housekeepers. 

The  most  important  division  of  this  island,  the  largest 
save  Luconia  of  the  Philippine  group,  was,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  under  the  sway  of  the  Sultan  of  Mindanao, 
who  was  often  at  war  with  the  tribes  that  occupied  the  in- 
terior and  the  opposite  coasts,  and  were  less  civilized  and 
A  a 


278        NATURAL  PRODUCTIONS  OF  MINDANAO. 

wealthy  than  his  subjects.  The  soil  of  the  island  was  deep 
and  black,  producing  great  varieties  of  timber  ;  and  among 
others  the  tree  named  by  the  natives  the  libty,  from  the  pith 
of  which  sago  is  manufactured.  Rice  was  raised  in  some 
places,  and  on  the  hilly  land  potatoes,  yams,  and  pumpkins. 
The  fruits  were  the  plantain,  which  Dampier  names  the 
"  king  of  fruits,"  guavas,  bananas,  musk  and  watermelons, 
betel-nuts,  cocoanuts,  jacas,  durions,  cloves,  nutmegs, 
oranges,  &c.  From  the  fibres  of  the  plantain  the  common 
people  of  Mindanao  manufactured  the  only  cloth  which 
they  wore,  making  webs  of  seven  or  eight  yards  long.  The 
betel-nut,  so  much  esteemed  in  most  places  of  India,  grew 
here  on  a  tree  like  the  cabbage-tree,  but  smaller.  At  the 
top  of  these  trees  the  nuts  grow  on  a  tough  stem,  as  thick 
as  a  man's  finger,  in  clusters  of  forty  or  fifty.  The  fruit 
resembles  the  nutmeg,  but  is  rather  larger  and  rounder. 
When  to  be  chewed,  the  nut  was  cut  into  four  bits,  one  of 
which  was  wrapped  up  in  an  areca-leaf,  spread  with  a  soft 
paste  made  of  lime.  Every  native  carried  his  lime-box  by 
his  side,  into  which  he  dipped  his  finger,  spread  his  betel- 
leaf,  wrapped  up  his  nut,  and  proceeded  to  chew.  Where 
there  are  no  betel-vines  the  leaves  are  imported  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  nut  is  the  most  admired  when  young,  and  while 
it  is  green  and  juicy.  It  tastes  rough  in  the  mouth,  dies 
the  lips  red  and  the  teeth  black,  but  at  the  same  time  pre- 
serves them.*  Those  who  are  not  accustomed  to  its  use 
become  giddy  at  first,  especially  if  the  nuts  are  old. 

The  religion  of  the  Mindanaians  was  the  Mohammedan  ; 
and  the  children  were  taught  to  read  and  write,  though 
business  was  generally  transacted  by  Chinese,  the  natives 
being  indifferent  accountants.  Besides  what  was  supposed 
their  native  language,  they  spoke  a  dialect  of  the  Malay, 
which  was  among  them  the  language  of  commerce.  Many 
of  them  also  understood  Spanish ;  as  the  Spaniards  had 
only  been  expelled  during  the  reign  of  the  present  sultan's 
father.  Rajah  Laut  both  spoke  and  wrote  Spanish  ;  and 
had,  from  reading  and  conversation,  acquired  a  considerable 
knowledge  of  European  countries.  The  natives  were  of 
middle  size,  with  small  limbs,  particularly  the  females. 

*  The  preservation  of  the  teeth  is  with  as  much  probability  attributed 
to  the  lime. 


APPEARANCE  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  NATIVES.  279 

They  had  straight  bodies,  with  small  heads.  Their  faces 
were  oval,  but  those  of  the  women  more  round.  Their 
foreheads  were  low,  with  small  black  eyes,  short  low  noses, 
their  lips  thin  and  red,  their  skins  tawny,  but  inclining  to 
a  brighter  yellow  than  some  of  the  other  Indians,  especially 
among  the  women.  Young  females  of  rank  were  often 
much  fairer  than  the  other  women,  and  their  noses  rose  to 
a  more  aristocratic  prominence  than  those  of  meaner 
females.  In  female  children  the  nose,  or  rise  between  the 
eyes,  was  sometimes  scarcely  perceptible.  The  natives  all 
walked  with  a  stately  air,  and  the  women,  though  barefooted, 
had  very  small  feet.  The  nail  of  the  left  thumb  was  allowed 
to  grow  very  long.  The  men  wore  a  small  turban,  the 
laced  ends  hanging  down,  with  trousers  and  a  frock,  but 
neither  stockings  nor  shoes.  The  women  tied  up  their 
hair  in  a  knot,  which  hung  down  on  the  crown  of  the  head. 
They  wore  a  petticoat,  and  a  frock  that  reached  below  the 
waist,  with  very  long  sleeves,  which,  pushed  up,  sat  in 
puckered  folds,  and  were  a  source  of  great  pride  to  the 
wearers.  They  were  also  adorned  with  earrings  and 
bracelets,  which  the  pagally  would  sometimes  beg  from  her 
English  friend.  The  clothing  of  the  higher  class  was  made 
of  long  cloth,  but  the  lower  universally  wore  the  saggan  or 
plantain-cloth.  They  used  no  chairs,  but  sat  cross-legged 
on  the  floor  or  on  mats.  The  common  food  of  the  people 
was  sago  or  rice,  with  occasionally  a  fish  or  two  ;  but  the 
better  classes  had  often  fowls  and  buffaloes'  flesh,  tn  some 
things  their  habits  were  very  filthy,  and  in  others  very 
cleanly.  Like  all  oriental  tribes,  they  washed  themselves 
frequently  in  the  rivers,  and  took  great  delight  in  swim- 
ming, to  which  exercise  both  sexes  are  accustomed  from 
infancy.  The  trades  practised  here  were  those  of  gold- 
smiths, blacksmiths,  and  carpenters,  every  man  being  more 
or  less  of  a  carpenter,  and  handling  with  dexterity  their 
scanty  tools,  which  consisted  of  the  axe  and  the  adze  alone, 
saws  and  planes  being  altogether  unknown.  Yet  the  ships 
and  barks  they  built  were  stout  and  serviceable,  and  in 
them  the  natives  made  war,  or  traded  to  Manilla,  and  some- 
times to  Borneo  and  other  distant  places,  exchanging  the 
gold  and  bees-wax  found  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  for 
calicoes,  silks,  and  muslins.  Tney  nau  also  a  traffic  with 
the  Dutch  in  tobacco,  which  in  Mindanao  was  uf  excellent 


280  SINGULAR   DISEASE. 

quality,  and  sold  so  low  as  twelve  pounds  for  a  rial.  The 
Mindanaians  were  resolute  in  fight,  though  they  avoided 
the  open  field,  erecting  forts  and  small  works,  on  which 
they  mounted  guns.  These  forts  they  would  defend  and 
besiege  for  months  together,  sometimes  making  a  sally. 
Their  weapons  were  lances,  swords,  and  what  Dampier 
calls  hand-cressets,*  resembling  a  bayonet,  which  they 
wore  at  all  times,  whether  in  war,  at  work,  or  pastime. 
When  likely  to  be  overcome,  they  sell  their  lives  dearly, 
and  seldom  either  give  or  take  quarter,  the  conqueror  hew- 
ing down  his  antagonist  without  mercy. 

The  people  here  were  liable  to  a  leprous  disease,  the  skin 
becoming  blotched  and  scurfy,  and  rising  in  white  scales 
from  the  continual  rubbing  induced  by  intolerable  itchiness. 
Some  had  the  skin  white,  in  spots  over  their  body,  though 
smooth  ;  and  these  Dampier  conjectured  were  patients  who 
had  been  cured.  Polygamy  was  common.  The  sultan 
had  one  queen  and  twenty-nine  inferior  wives,  of  whom 
one  was  called  the  war-queen,  as  she  always  attended  her 
lord  to  battle.  The  daughter  of  the  sultan  by  his  queen 
was  kept  in  strict  seclusion ;  but  his  other  children  in 
patriarchal  numbers  roamed  about  the  streets,  often  begging 
things  which  they  fancied  from  the  Bucanier  seamen.  It 
was  said  that  the  young  princess  had  never  seen  any  man 
save  her  father  the  sultan,  and  Rajah  Laut ;  though  all  the 
other  women  were  occasionally  allowed  to  appear  abroad 
in  pageants,  or  upon  public  festivals. 

The  sultan  was  an  absolute  prince,  who,  in  oriental 
fashion,  encouraged  the  industry  and  commercial  enterprise 
of  his  subjects  by  borrowing  sums,  however  small,  which 
he  discovered  they  had  accumulated  by  trade.  By  way  of 
varying  this  system  of  arbitrary  exaction,  he  would  at  other 
times  first  compel  them  to  purchase  goods  belonging  to 
himself,  which  had  probably  been  confiscated,  and  after- 
ward find  some  occasion  of  state  to  reclaim  those  goods  for 
the  public  service.  He  was  a  little  man,  now  between 

*  Dampier's  hand-cressets  are  the  kreeses  of  the  Malayan  tribes,  the 
favourite  weapon  throughout  all  the  islands  and  coasts  into  which  this 
warlike  race  have  forced  their  way.  The  weapon  described  as  a  long 
dagger  or  sword,  seen  by  Magellan's  crew,  was  the  true  kreese  of  the 
Malay ;  and  neither  different  in  shape,  nor  in  the  enrichments  of  the  hilt 
and  sheath,  from  that  worn  at  this  day. 


DANCING-WOMEN,    AND    AMUSEMENTS.         281 

fifty  and  sixty,  and  altogether  inferior  to  his  brother  and 
grand  vizier,  the  Rajah  Laut,  who,  though  only  equal  in 
trickery,  was  superior  to  all  his  compeers  in  capacity  and 
intelligence.  It  was  he  who  led  the  military  forces  of  the 
sultan,  managed  the  foreign  policy,  and  regulated  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  Mindanao.  Without  the  license  of  Rajah 
Laut  no  one  could  either  buy  or  sell ;  nor  could  the  com- 
mon fishermen  enter  or  leave  the  port  without  his  permis- 
sion. The  Rajah  Laut  was  altogether  the  hero  of  Min- 
danao, the  women  in  the  public  dances  and  festivals  singing 
his  praises  and  celebrating  his  exploits. 

Besides  being  the  wet  season,  it  was  Ramadan  time 
when  the  Cygnet  came  to  anchor  in  the  river,  and  amuse- 
ment and  pleasure  were  nearly  suspended  in  Mindanao  , 
but  as  soon  as  this  solemn  period  was  passed,  the  Rajah 
Laut  entertained  his  friend  Captain  Swan  every  night  with 
dances,  those  bands  of  regularly  trained  dancing-women 
being  seen  here  which  are  common  over  all  India.  But 
all  the  females  of  Mindanao  were  fond  of  dancing,  which 
they  practised  in  a  ring  of  forty  or  fifty,  who  joined  hand- 
in-hand,  singing  in  chorus,  and  keeping  time  ;  and  though 
;they  never  moved  from  the  same  spot,  making  various  ges- 
tures, throwing  forward  one  leg,  and  clapping  their  hands 
at  the  .close  of  the  verse.  The  Rajah  Laut  was  in  return 
entertained  by  Captain  Swan's  men,  who  performed  Eng- 
lish dances  to  the  music  of  violins,  in  a  ball-room  fitted  up 
with  gold  and  silver  lace,  arid  illuminated  by  a  profusion  of 
wax  candles.  Dampier  relates  the  very  natural  mistake 
into  which  the  rajah  fell  regarding  one  of  these  quarter- 
deck performers.  John  Thacker,  a  common  Bucanier, 
though  he  could  neither  read  nor  write,  had  acquired  the 
accomplishment  of  dancing  about  some  "  of  the  music- 
houses  of  Wapping,"  and  coming  into  the  South  Sea 
with  Captain  Harris,  had  been  so  fortunate  in  acquiring 
booty,  that  he  now  wore  fine  clothes,  and  by  his  superior 
dress  and  dancing  was  supposed  by  the  natives  to  be  a 
person  of  noble  extraction.  When  the  rajah,  to  satisfy 
his  curiosity  on  this  important  point,  put  the  question  to 
one  of  the  company,  the  seaman  replied  humorously  that 
the  conjecture  as  to  Jack's  quality  was  quite  correct ;  and 
that  most  of  the  ship's  company  were  of  like  extraction,  at 
Jeaat  all  who  wore  good  clothes  and  had  .money,  those 
Aa2 


282  HUNTING   EXCURSION. 

meanly  clad  being  but  common  seamen.  The  rajah  from  this 
time  portioned  out  his  civilities  according  to  the  garb  of  his 
new  friends. 

Captain  Swan  was  by  this  time  deeply  chagrined  at  the 
result  of  his  voyage.  Most  of  his  crew  were  turbulent  and 
lawless ;  those  who  had  money  revelling  on  shore,  and 
continually  involving  themselves  in  quarrels  with  the  na- 
tives,— while  those  who  were  poor  were  growling  on  board 
at  the  privations  they  suffered,  and  the  time  wasted  in  inac- 
tion. In  the  number  of  the  penniless  was  Dampier,  who 
had  no  means  of  recreation  and  no  source  of  enjoyment 
save  the  faculty  of  a  powerful  and  quick  observation,  and 
the  delight  of  entering  his  remarks  in  his  journal.  The 
single  and  undivided  object  of  the  rest  of  the  crew  of  the 
Cygnet  was  gold — the  plunder  of  the  Manilla  ship  ;  nor 
durst  the  commander  reveal  his  dislike  to  their  project. 
About  the  same  time  that  his  crew  grew  violently  discon- 
tented, he  became  himself  suspicious  of  the  good  faith  of 
his  friend  Rajah  Laut,  who  for  the  iron  and  lead  which  he 
had  procured  continued  to  pay  with  fair  promises. 

Beef  was  one  of  the  articles  which  the  rajah  had  prom- 
ised to  the  English,  and  a  party  went  a  hunting  with  him, 
but  found  no  prey.  Dampier,  a  practised  hunter,  was 
always  of  these  parties,  and  used  the  opportunities  they 
afforded  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  the  country.  In  these 
distant  hunting  excursions  the  rajah  carried  his  wives, 
children,  and  servants  along  with  him  in  the  proas  of  the 
country,  which  were  fitted  up  with  rooms.  They  settled 
at  some  village  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  hunting-ground, 
the  chief  and  his  family  occupying  one  end  of  the  house 
and  the  Englishmen  the  other.  While  he  and  his  men, 
who  always  hunted  from  dawn  till  late  in  the  afternoon, 
were  abroad,  the  Englishmen  were  frequently  left  at  home 
with  the  women  and  children.  Though  these  ladies  never 
quitted  their  own  apartment  while  the  chief  remained  at 
home,  he  was  no  sooner  gone  than  they  usually  flocked  to 
the  strangers'  room,  asking  a  thousand  questions  about  the 
condition  of  the  women  and  the  fashions  and  customs  of 
England.  These  were  the  subject  of  long  and  earnest 
argument  among  themselves,  some  condemning  and  others 
applauding  the  custom,  which  all  allowed  to  be  singular, 
of,  even  the  king  and  chiefs  having  but  one  wife.  Among 


MANNERS    OF    THE    NATIVES.  283 

the  proselytes  to  monogamy  was  the  war-queen  or  wife, 
the  lady  who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending  the  rajah 
to  battle  ;  and  her  reasons,  if  they  did  not  convince,  at 
least  silenced  her  opponents. 

During  this  excursion,  Dampier,  from  the  conversation 
of  the  women,  considerably  increased  his  acquaintance  with 
the  character  and  customs  of  the  people.  They  bathed 
daily,  and  washed  after  every  meal ;  and  if  they  became 
unclean  from  touching  accidentally  any  forbidden  thing, 
underwent  scrupulous  purification.  Though  associating 
so  intimately  with  the  English,  they  did  not  like  to  drink 
with  nor  after  them.  Wild  hogs  abounded,  but  swine's 
flesh,  and  every  part  of  that  filthy  animal,  was  held  in  the 
utmost  abhorrence  by  the  Mindanaians  ;  and  though  they 
invited  the  seamen  to  destroy  the  animals  that  came  to  the 
city  during  the  night  to  feed  on  garbage  under  the  houses, 
they  were  ordered  to  take  the  swine  on  board,  and  those 
who  had  touched  these  abominable  creatures  were  ever 
afterward  loathed  and  avoided  by  the  natives,  and  forbidden 
their  houses.  This  superstitious  dislike  was  carried  to  so 
great  a  length,  that  the  Rajah  Laut  returned  in  a  rage  a 
pair  of  shoes  made  in  the  English  fashion,  of  leather  he 
had  furnished,  and  in  which  he  had  taken  great  pride,  till 
he  learned  that  the  thread  with  which  they  were  sewed 
had  been  pointed  with  hog's  bristles.  The  shoemaker  got 
more  leather,  and  made  a  quite  unexceptionable  pair,  with 
which  the  chief  was  satisfied. 

At  this  hunting- village,  in  the  evenings,  the  women 
danced  before  the  rajah  ;  and  before  the  party  broke  up  to 
return  to  Mindanao,  he  entertained  the  Englishmen  with  a 
jar  of  "  rice  drink,"  a  fermented  liquor,  on  which  he  and 
his  attendants  got  very  merry.  He  drank  first  himself 
and  then  his  men  ;  "  and  they  all,"  says  Dampier,  "  were 
as  drunk  as  swine  before  they  suffered  us  to  drink. 

That  balance  in  human  affairs  which  pervades  all  condi- 
tions was  now  turning  the  scale  in  favour  of  the  less  for- 
tunate portion  of  the  Cygnet's  crew.  The  Mindanaians-, 
though  hospitable  and  kind,  were,  when  offended,  vindictive 
and  deadly  in  their  resentments  ;  the  conduct  of  these  dis- 
solute and  openly  profligate  seamen  had  given  them  deep 
offence  ;  and  sixteen  of  the  Bucaniers  were  in  a  short  time 
taken  off  by  poison,  to  which  more  afterward  fell  victims. 


284         CONDUCT  OF  RAJAH  LAUT. 

The  islanders  were  skilled  in  subtle  poisons,  which  had  not 
their  full  operation  till  a  long  while  after  they  were  admin- 
istered. Some  of  the  men,  after  they  were  conscious  of 
having  been  poisoned,  lingered  on  for  months.  When 
they  died,  their  livers  were  found  black,  dry,  and  shrivelled 
"  like  cork." 

The  ship  had  not  lain  long  in  the  river  when  it  had  been 
discovered  that  her  bottom  was  eaten  with  worms,  which 
bred  in  such  great  numbers  in  this  place,  that  shortly 
before  a  Dutch  vessel  had  been  destroyed  by  them  in  two 
months,  while  the  Rajah  Laut  became  heir  to  her  great 
guns.  It  began  to  be  suspected  that  he  entertained  the 
hope  of  being  equally  fortunate  in  a  legacy  from  the  Cygnet, 
as  he  had  given  no  intimation  of  a  danger  which  the  Min» 
danaians  always  avoided  by  placing  their  barks  and  boats 
in  a  dry-dock  the  moment  they  came  into  port,  even 
when  only  returned  from  fishing.  He  shook  his  head  and 
seemed  displeased  when  he  saw  that  the  sheathing  of  the 
vessel  had  prevented  serious  damage,  and  gravely  remarked, 
"  that  he  never  did  see  a  ship  with  the  cunning  device  of 
two  bottoms  before."  Dampier  had  seen  the  same  kind  of 
worms  in  myriads  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy  and  in  the 
Bay  of  Panama,  and  in  smaller  numbers  in  Virginia.  They 
are  never  seen  far  at  sea. 

This  alarming  damage  was  repaired  in  time,  though, 
taken  with  other  circumstances,  it  strengthened  the  sus- 
picions of  Captain  Swan,  and  excited  the  discontent  of  the 
men  by  increasing  their  alarm.  Rajah  Laut  also,  if  he  did 
not  absolutely  refuse,  still  delayed  to  furnish  the  beef  and  rice 
necessary  to  their  subsistence,  and  which  were  to  be  the 
price  of  the  commodities  with  which  Captain  Swan  had  so 
largely  furnished  him.  His  English  friend  had  also  lent 
the  rajah  twenty  ounces  of  gold,  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
a  solemn  ceremonial  observed  shortly  before,  when  his  son 
had  been  circumcised.  This  splendid  ceremony,  at  which 
the  English  assisted,  had  been  celebrated  with  music, 
dances,  the  singular  war-dance  of  the  country,  banquets, 
pageants,  and  processions  by  torchlight.  The  rajah,  in  a 
manner  uot  uncommon  in  eastern  countries,  not  only 
refused  to  repay  the  gold,  but  when  urged,  insisted*  that  it 
had  J>e,en  a  present,  and  finally  demanded  payment  for  all 


SAILING    OF    THE    CYGNET.  285 

the  victuals  Swan  and  his  men  had  consumed  at  his  hos- 
pitable board. 

While  the  rajah  thus  refused  to  discharge  his  debts,  the 
Bucanier  crew  clamoured  to  be  gone,  and,  becoming  openly 
mutinous,  a  party  of  them  resolved  to  carry  off  the  ship. 
Neither  Dampier,  who  happened  to  be  on  board,  nor  the 
surgeon's  mate,  approved  of  this  treacherous  design,  but 
they  were  reluctantly  compelled  to  go  with  the  rest,  leaving 
Captain  Swan  and  thirty-six  men  at  Mindanao,  from 
whence  the  Cygnet  sailed  on  the  14th  January,  16S7,  in- 
tending to  cruise  off  Manilla.  A  Bucanier  of  Jamaica, 
named  Read,  was  chosen  commander.  The  first  intima- 
tion Swan  had  of  his  abandonment  was  the  gun  which  was 
fired  as  the  ship  got  under  way.  To  his  own  irresolution, 
bad  temper,  and  want  of  firmness  Dampier  imputes  this 
misfortune.  If,  when  apprized  of  the  design  of  the  muti- 
neers, he  had  come  on  board  and  behaved  with  prudence  and 
courage,  he  might  have  brought  back  the  greater  part  of 
the  men  to  their  duty,  and  taken  his  own  measures  with 
the  ringleaders,  to  some  of  whom  he  had  certainly  given 
just  cause  of  discontent. 

After  leaving  Mindanao,  the  Cygnet,  with  a  crew  now 
reduced  by  various  causes  to  eighty  men,  coasted  to  the 
westward.  They  fell  in  with  a  great  many  Keys,  or  small 
low  islets,  between  which  and  Mindanao  there  was  a  good 
channel.  On  the  east  of  these  Keys  they  anchored  and 
obtained  green-turtle.  At  different  places  they  cut  ratans, 
such  as  were  used  in  England  for  walking-canes.  They 
saw  here  large  bats,  "  seven  or  eight  feet  from  tip  to  tip" 
of  the  extended  wings,  which  regularly  at  dusk  took  their 
flight  from  the  smaller  islands  to  the  main  island  in  swarms 
like  bees,  and  returned  like  a  cloud  before  sunrise.  On  the 
23d  they  reached  Luconia,  having  captured  a  Spanish 
vessel  laden  with  rice  and  cotton-cloth,  bound  for  Manilla. 
The  master  had  been  boatswain  of  the  Acapulco  ship  which 
had  escaped  them  at  Guahan,  and  which  now  lay  safe  in 
port.  Nothing,  therefore,  of  consequence  could  be  hoped 
for  this  season,  and  to  beguile  the  time,  and  wait  a  more 
favourable  opportunity,  they  resolved  to  sail  for  the  Pulo 
Condore  or  "  Islands  of  Calabashes,"  a  group  of  small 
islands  on  the  coast  of  Cambodia.  They  anchored  at 
Condore  on  the  14th  March.  Two  of  the  cluster  are 


286  THE    ISLANDS    OF    CALABASHES. 

pretty  large  and  high.  They  were  tolerably  well  wooded, 
and  on  the  greatest  of  them  was  found  a  tree  from  which 
the  inhahitants  extracted  a  pith  or  viscid  juice  which  they 
boiled  up  into  good  tar,  and  which,  if  kept  boiling  long 
cnoiiirh,  became  pitch.*  The  mangoes  of  which  the  Indian 
pirklr  is  made  were  found  here.  They  were  now  ripe, 
and  were  betrayed  to  the  seamen  by  their  delicious  frag- 
rance. The  grape-tree  was  also  seen,  with  the  wild  or 
spurious  nutmeg,  and  many  sorts  -of  beautiful  birds,  as 
parrots,  paroquets,  pigeons,  and  doves.  The  inhabitants 
of  Pulo  Condore  resembled  the  Mindanaians,  but  were 
darker  in  complexion.  Their  chief  business  was  to  make 
tar  of  the  pith  of  the  trees  mentioned  above,  which  they 
exported  to  Cochin-China,  from  which  these  islanders  were 
originally  a  colony.  The  oil  of  the  turtle  was  another 
article  of  their  commerce  with  their  mother-country.  The 
islanders  were  idolaters.  In  a  temple  Dampier  saw  the 
image  of  an  elephant  and  of  a  horse,  which  they  were  sup- 
posed to  worship. 

At  this  place  the  Bucaniers  remained  for  a  month  ;  after 
which  they  cruised  in  the  Gulf  of  Siam  and  in  several 
parts  of  the  China  seas,  taking  all  barks  that  fell  in  their 
way,  whether  Spanish,  Portuguese,  or  native  vessels. 
From  the  crew  of  a  junk  belonging  to  the  Island  of  Suma- 
tra they  learned  that  the  English  had  established  a  factory 
on  that  island.  The  surgeon  and  Dampier,  who  had 
accompanied  "  this  mad  crew"  against  their  inclination, 
"  and  were  sufficiently  weary  of  them,"  would  have  escaped 
here,  and  taken  their  chance  of  getting  to  this  or  some 
other  English  factory ;  but  they  were  constrained  to  re- 
main in  the  Cygnet. 

The  next  destination  of  the  Bucaniers  was  the  Ponghou 
Islands,  which  in  no  respect  answered  their  purpose  of 
quiet  and  security.  At  the  place  where  they  anchored 
there  was  a  large  town  and  a  Tartar  garrison. 

In  the  charts  which  they  possessed  there  were  laid  down, 
marked  by  the  figure  5,  a  group  of  islands  situated  between 
Luconia  (the  cynosure  of  their  hopes)  and  Formosa  ;  and 
these,  which  offered  a  tolerably  convenient  station,  they 

*  Probably  the  damar,  the  most  important  of  the  gums  found  in  the 
Indian  islands,  and  extensively  used  for  ships  and  boats. 


THE    BASHEE    ISLANDS.  287 

hoped  might  be  either  uninhabited  or  only  peopled  by  tribes 
from  whom  they  might  with  impunity  plunder  provisions, 
without  danger  of  the  outrage  being  heard  of  in  the  Phi- 
lippines. They  steered  for  them,  and  upon  the  6th  August 
reached  the  interesting  group  now  known  as  the  Bashee 
Islands.  They  approached  by  the  westernmost  and  largest 
of  the  group,  on  which  they  had  the  felicity  to  see  goats 
browsing  ;  but  safe  anchorage  was  not  obtained  till  next 
day,  in  a  bay  at  the  east  side  of  the  easternmost  island. 
The  sails  were  not  furled  when  a  hundred  small  boats 
swarmed  round  the  Cygnet,  each  carrying  from  three  to 
six  men,  with  whom  the  deck  was  soon  crowded.  The 
pirates,  alarmed  by  the  numbers  of  the  islanders,  got  their 
firearms  in  readiness  ;  but  iron,  the  most  precious  of  mot  a  Is 
with  the  savage,  for  which  he  freely  and  gladly  gives  gold 
in  exchange,  wondering  at  the  folly  or  simplicity  that  in- 
duces the  European  to  the  unequal  barter,  and  leaving  the 
philosopher  to  decide  which  gains  most  by  the  bargain, — 
iron  was  the  only  thing  that  captivated  the  Basheeans,  who 
quickly  picked  up  all  the  little  pieces  they  could  find,  but 
were  otherwise  perfectly  quiet  and  orderly.  Waxing  bolder 
by  indulgence,  one  of  them  tried  to  wrench  out  an  iron 
pin  from  the  carriage  of  a  gun.  He  was  laid  hold  of,  and 
his  cries  made  all  his  countrymen  scamper  off  in  a  fright. 
The  man  was,  however,  kindly  treated,  and,  being  first 
made  sensible  of  his  error  in  attempting  to  steal,  was  pre- 
sented with  a  piece  of  iron,  with  which  he  swam  to  his 
comrades.  Thus  reassured,  the  islanders  returned,  and  a 
brisk  trade  was  opened,  which  was  renewed  daily.  Ever 
after  this  slight  check  they  continued  honest,  and  they  had 
always  been  civil.  A  hog  was  now  got  for  two  or  three 
pounds  of  iron,  a  fat  goose  for  an  old  iron  hoop,  and  the 
liquor  of  the  islands,  the  bashee  drink,  from  the  name  of 
which  the  pirates  gave  the  whole  group  their  general 
appellation,  for  old  nails,  spikes,  and  bullets. 

These  five  islands  were  more  particularly  named,  1. 
Orange  Island,  so  called  by  the  Dutchmen  among  the  crew 
in  honour  of  their  native  prince.  It  is  the  largest  and 
most  westerly  of  the  group,  and  was  uninhabited.  2.  Graf- 
ton  Island  was  so  named  by  Dampier  in  compliment  to  the 
noble  family  in  whose  household  he  had,  as  has  been  men- 


288  NATIVES    OF    THE    BASHEE    ISLANDS. 

tioned,  left  his  wife.  3.  Monmouth  Island  was  named  by 
the  seamen  after  the  unfortunate  Duke  of  Monmouth,  the 
son  of  Charles  II.  The  other  two  were  called  the  Goat 
and  the  Bashee  Island,  from  the  number  of  goats  seen  on 
the  one,  and  the  abundance  of  the  beverage  which  gained 
the  approbation  of  the  seamen  that  was  made  on  the  other. 
The  two  latter  are  small  islands,  lying  to  the  south,  in  the 
channel  which  divides  Orange  Island  from  Grafton  and 
Monmouth  Islands.  Monmouth  Island  is  high,  and  so 
fenced  with  steep  rocks  and  precipitous  cliffs,  that  the 
Bucaniers  did  not  land  upon  it  as  they  did  upon  all  the 
other  islands.  Grafton  and  Monmouth  Islands  were  thickly 
inhabited,  and  on  Bashee  there* was  one  village.  The 
natives  were  "  short  squat  people,  generally  round-visaged, 
with  low  foreheads  and  thick  eyebrows  ;  their  eyes  small 
and  hazel-coloured,  yet  bigger  than  those  of  the  Chinese  ; 
short  low  noses,  their  lips  and  mouths  middle-proportioned  ; 
their  teeth  white,  their  hair  black,  thick,  and  lank,  which 
they  wore  cut  short ;  it  will  just  cover  their  ears,  and  so  is 
cut  round  very  even,"  says  Dampier,  and  to  this  fashion 
they  seemed  to  attach  great  importance.  Their  skins  are  a 
dark  copper-colour.  They  wear  neither  hat,  cap,  turban, 
nor  any  thing  to  keep  off  the  heat  of  the  sun.  The  men 
had  a  cloth  about  their  middle,  and  some  wore  jackets  of 
plantain-leaves,  "  as  rough  and  bristly  as  a  bear's  skin." 
The  women  were  clothed  with  a  short  cotton  petticoat, 
which  fell  below  the  knees  ;  of  "  a  thick,  stubborn"  cloth 
that  they  manufactured  themselves.  Both  men  and  women 
wore  large  earrings  of  a  yellow  glistering  metal,  found  in 
the  mines  in  their  own  mountains,  resembling  gold,  but 
paler  in  colour.  These  rings  and  this  metal  completely 
baffled  the  science  of  the  pirates,  who  had  rather  an  in- 
stinctive love  of  gold  than  much  knowledge  of  its  natural 
properties.  When  first  polished  the  rings  made  of  this 
yellow  metal  looked  peculiarly  brilliant,  but  they  soon  faded 
and  became  quite  dim,  when  it  was  necessary  to  throw 
them  into  the  fire,  first  casing  them  in  a  soft  paste  made 
of  a  red  earth.  After  being  heated  red-hot  they  were 
cooled  in  water,  and  the  paste  rubbed  off,  when  the  glister- 
ing lustre  was  found  renewed.  Our  navigator  was,  unfor- 
tunately, too  poor  to  be  able  to  purchase  any  of  this 


BREWING  AND  COOKERY  OF  THE  ISLANDERS.    289 

metal  ;*  or  rather  too  honest  to  reckon  any  part  of  the  iron 
belonging  to  Captain  Swan's  owners,  of  which  there  was 
still  a  good  quantity  on  board,  his  property,  though  his 
companions  were  much  less  scrupulous.  The  language 
of  the  people  of  the  Bashee  Isles  was  quite  strange  to  the 
pirates,  though  they  were  now  tolerably  well  acquainted 
with  the  Malay  tongue,  the  dialect  of  Mindanao,  and  the 
Chinese  language. 

No  foreign  commodities  of  any  kind  were  seen  among 
the  Basheeans,  nor  any  thing  that  could  have  been  intro- 
duced by  sea,  save  a  few  bits  of  iron  and  pieces  of  buffalo- 
hides.  In  all  points  they  appeared  an  unmixed  race,  in 
their  dispositions  singularly  mild,  amiable,  and  peaceful. 
Their  islands  produced  plantains,  bananas,  pumpkins,  and 
plenty  of  yams,  which  made  the  principal  part  of  their  food. 
They  had  no  grain  of  any  kind,  and  consequently  but  few 
fowls,  which  Dampier  never  saw  in  plenty  where  there  was 
not  either  maize,  rice,  or  grain  of  some  sort.  Some  cotton- 
plants  were  seen,  and  sugar-canes,  from  the  boiled  juices 
of  which  the  natives  made  the  liquor  so  agreeable  to  their 
visiters.  The  boiled  juice,  with  which  a  small  black  berry 
was  mixed,  was  allowed  to  ferment  for  three  or  four  days, 
and  when  it  had  settled,  was  poured  off  clear  from  the  lees, 
and  was  fit  to  drink.  It  was  much  like  English  beer,  both 
in  taste  and  colour,  and,  as  Dampier  verily  believed,  a  per- 
fectly wholesome  beverage,  many  of  the  men  who  drank  it 
copiously  every  day,  and  were  often  .drunk  with  it,  being 
never  once  sick  in  consequence  of  their  liberal  potations. 
The  natives  sold  it  cheaply,  and  when  the  seamen  visited 
at  their  houses  freely  gave  them  Bashee-drink,  and  some- 
times bought  a  jar  from  a  neighbour  to  entertain  their 
guests.  These  purchases  were  made  with  small  crumbs  of 
the  glistering  metal  above  described,  which,  wrapped  in 
plantain-leaves,  served  as  a  substitute  for  coin.  Though 
cleanly  in  their  persons  and  habitations,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Bashee  Isles  were  in  some  respects  very  filthy  in  their 
eating.  They  were  not  seen  at  this  time  to  kill  any 
animals  for  their  own  use  ;  but  of  the  goats  purchased  by 

*  The  Bashee  Islands  have  since  been  known  to  afford  a  considerable 
quantity  of  gold-dust,  washed  down  from  the  mountains  by  the  torrents. 
The  Spaniards,  in  1783,  formed  a  settlement  on  Grarton  Island  to  collect 
the  gold,  and  left  a  garrison  of  about  100  men. 
Bb 


290  THEIR  SINGULAR  DWELLINGS. 

the  Bucaniers  they  begged  the  skin  and  garbage,  and 
when  the  surly  seamen  threw  them  into  the  sea,  they 
would  take  them  out.  With  the  hogs  they  never  meddled. 
The  goat's  skin  they  broiled  and  gnawed  ;  and  of  the 
paunch  made  what  to  them  appeared  a  delicious  dish. 
The  whole  crude  contents  of  the  stomach  were  emptied 
into  a  pot,  and  stewed  with  any  small  fish  they  had  caught, 
which  they  took  what  Dampicr  thought  very  superfluous 
trouble  in  cleaning  and  mincing,  considering  the  nature 
of  the  substances  with  which  the  fish  were  mixed.  This 
mess  was  eaten  as  the  people  of  the  Philippines  did  their 
rice,  he  being  reckoned  the  best-bred  among  the  Minda- 
naians  who,  wetting  his  hands  to  prevent  the  boiled  rice 
from  sticking  to  them,  could  most  dexterously  roll  up  and 
swallow  the  largest  ball.  The  people  of  these  island  had 
another  singular  dish  made  of  locusts,  which  at  this  season 
attacked  the  potato-leaves  in  multitudes,  and  in  their 
ravages  spared  no  green  thing.  They  were  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  in  length,  and  as  thick  as  the  tip  of  a  man's 
little  finger,  with  large  thin  wings  and  long  small  legs. 
The  Basheeans  caught  them  in  small  nets,  a  quart  at  one 
sweep.  When  enough  were  obtained  for  a  dish,  they  were 
parched  in  an  earthen  pot  over  the  fire,  till  the  legs  and 
wings  dropped  off,  when  from  brown  they  became  red. 
Their  bodies  were  succulent,  though  the  heads  crackled 
under  the  teeth  of  the  cater. 

The  dwellings  of  the  islanders,  and  the  places  upon 
which  they  had  perched  them,  were  among  the  most  singu- 
lar features  of  their  social  condition.  In  describing  them 
we  adopt  the  words  of  Dampier : — "  These  people  made 
but  low,  small  houses.  The  sides,  which  were  made  of 
small  posts,  wattled  with  boughs,  are  not  above  four  feet 
and  a  half  high  :  the  ridge  pole  is  about  seven  or  eight  feet 
high.  They  have  a  fireplace  at  one  end  of  their  houses, 
and  boards  placed  on  the  ground  to  lie  on.  They  inhabit 
together  in  small  villages  built  on  the  sides  and  tops  of 
rocky  hills,  three  or  four  rows  of  houses  one  above  another, 
under  such  steep  precipices  that  they  go  up  to  the  first  row 
with  a  wooden  ladder,  and  so  with  a  ladder  still  from  every 
story  up  to  that  above  it,  there  bein<«  no  other  \v;>.y  to  ascend. 
The  plain  on  the  first  precipice  may  be  so  wide  as  to  have 
room  both  for  a  row  of  houses,  which  stand  all  along  the 


PRIMITIVE    BELLOWS.  291 

edge  or  brink  of  it,  and  a  very  narrow  street  running  along 
before  their  doors,  between  the  row  of  houses  and  the  foot 
of  the  next  precipice,  the  plain  of  which  is  in  a  manner 
level  with  the  roofs  of  the  houses  below,  and  so  for  the 
rest.  The  common  ladder  to  each  row,  or  street,  comes  np 
at  a  narrow  passage,  left  purposely  about  the  middle  of  it, 
and  the  street  being  bounded  with  a  precipice  also  at  each 
end,  'tis  but  drawing  up  the  ladder  if  they  be  assaulted,  and 
then  there  is  no  coming  at  them  from  below  but  by  climb- 
ing a  perpendicular  wall.  And  that  they  may  not  be  as- 
saulted from  above  they  take  care  to  build  on  the  side  of 
such  a  hill  whose  back  hangs  over  the  sea,  or  is  some  high, 
steep,  perpendicular  precipice,  altogether  inaccessible." 
These  precipices  and  regular  terraces  appeared  quite  natu- 
ral* Grafton  and  Monmouth  Islands  abounded  in  these 
rocky  fortresses,  in  which  the  natives  felt  themselves  secure 
from  pirates,  and  from  enemies  whether  foreign  or  domestic. 
The  boats  of  the  islanders  were  ingeniously  constructed, 
somewhat  like  Deal  yawls,  and  some  of  them  so  large  that 
they  could  carry  forty  or  fifty  men.  They  were  impelled 
by  twelve  or  fourteen  oars  on  each  side.  Though  scantily 
provided  with  iron,  the  Basheeans  could  work  this  metal, 
employing  the  same  sort  of  bellows,  remarkable  for  rude 
ingenuity,  which  Dampier  had  seen  at  Mindanao.  This 
primitive  bellows  was  formed  of  two  hollow  cylinders,  made 
of  the  trunks  of  trees,  like  our  wooden  water-pipes.  They 
were  about  three  feet  long,  and  were  placed  upright  in  the 

f  round,  near  the  blacksmith's  fire,  which  was  made  on  the 
oor.  Near  the  bottom  of  each  cylinder,  on  the  side  next 
the  forge,  a  hole  was  bored,  into  which  a  tube  was  exactly 
fitted.  These  tubes  met  in  a  common  centre  or  mouth  op- 
posite the  fire.  The  bellows  being  thus  prepared,  a  man 
stood  between  the  hollowed  trunks  with  a  brush  of  feathers 
in  each  hand,  which  he  worked  alternately  in  the  cylinders, 
like  the  piston  of  a  pump,  thus  impelling  the  air  through 
the  small  pipes  below,  which  by  this  means  kept  up  a  blast 
that  played  continually  upon  the  fire. 

The  men  of  the  Bashee  Islands,  while  the  Cygnet  lay 
there,  were  generally  employed  in  fishing,  leaving  the  planta- 
tions to  the  care  of  the  women.  Their  weapons  were 
wooden  lances,  of  which  only  a  few  were  headed  with  iron; 
their  armour  a  buffalo's  hide,  as  thick  as  a  board,  which 


292        MANNERS  OF  THE  BASHEE  ISLANDERS. 

covered  them  to  the  knees,  having  holes  for  the  head  and 
arms.  No  form  of  worship  was  observed  among  this  tribe, 
nor  did  any  one  seem  to  have  more  authority  than  another. 
Every  man  had  one  wife,  and  ruled  his  own  household, — 
the  single  wife  appearing  affectionate  and  happy,  and  the 
children  respecting  and  honouring  their  parents.  The  boys 
went  out  to  fish  with  their  fathers,  while  the  girls  attended 
to  domestic  duties  with  their  mothers.  Their  plantations 
were  in  the  valleys,  where  each  family  had  one  ;  and  thither 
the  young  girls,  as  soon  as  they  were  able  for  the  task,  de- 
scended every  day  from  their  rocky  abodes  to  dig  yams  and 
potatoes,  which  they  carried  home  on  their  heads  for  the 
use  of  the  family. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  had  Dampier  seen  people  so  per- 
fectly quiet  and  civil  as  these  islanders.  "  They  dealt 
justly  and  with  great  sincerity,"  he  says,  "  and  made  us 
very  welcome  to  their  houses  with  Bashee-drink." 

Meanwhile  the  cruise  off  Mini  ilia  was  not  forgotten. 
Eighty  hogs  were  salted,  and  yams  and  potatoes  laid  up  for 
sea-store.  The  crew  had  taken  in  water,  and  now  only 
waited  the  settling  of  the  eastern  monsoon  to  take  their  de- 
parture. On  the  24th  September  the  wind  shifted  to  the 
east,  and  by  midnight  blew  so  fiercely  that  they  were  driven 
to  sea,  leaving  six  of  their  men  on  the  island.  It  was  the 
1st  October  before  they  were  able  to  recover  their  anchoring 
ground.  The  natives  immediately  rowed  their  comrades  on 
board.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  out  of  sight,  the  islanders 
increased  in  hospitality  and  kindness  to  the  strangers  left 
amonjj  them.  They  only  stipulated  that  the  Bucaniers 
should  cut  their  hair  in  the  Bashee  fashion  ;  and  on  this 
condition  offered  each  of  them  a  wife,  and,  as  a  dowry,  a 
plantation  and  implements  of  labour. 

The  late  storm,  their  long  and  profitless  cruise,  now  ex- 
tending with  some  of  them  to  years,  and  the  penalties  to 
which  their  criminal  acts  made  them  all  alike  liable  in  every 
civilized  country,  combined  to  depress  the  spirits  of  the 
crew  of  the  Cygnet ;  and  once  more  every  man  heartily 
wished  himself  at  home,  "  as  they  had  done  a  hundred 
times  before."  They  were,  however,  persuaded  by  the 
captain  and  master  to  try  one  more  chance,  and  agreed  to 
steer  for  Cape  Comorin,  for  ever  renouncing  the  long- 
indulged  dream  of  capturing  the  Manilla  ship.  Dampier 


THE  CYGNET  LEAVES  THE  BASHEE  ISLANDS.  293 

believed  that  the  ultimate  object  of  the  pirate  commanders 
was  to  cruise  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  by  one  more  desperate 
ttort  to  make  or  for  ever  mar  their  fortunes.  Of  all  the 
company  none  was  more  heartily  tired  than  our  naviga- 
tor, who  had  been  betrayed  into  this  voyage,  and  whose 
thoughts,  since  leaving  Mindanao,  had  run  continually  on 
making  his  escape  to  some  English  settlement.  To  avoid 
the  danger  of  meeting  English  or  Dutch  ships,  with  which, 
in  taking  the  best  and  most  direct  course,  they  were  in  dan- 
ger of  falling  in,  they  agreed,  instead  of  steering  for  the 
straits  of  Malacca,  to  go  round  the  east  side  of  the  Philip- 
pines, and,  keeping  south  to  the  Spice  Islands,  pass  these 
and  enter  the  Indian  Ocean  about  Timor.  To  Dampier  all 
routes  were  alike.  «  I  was  well  enough  satisfied,"  he  says, 
"knowing  that  the  further  we  went  the  more  knowledge 
and  experience  I  should  get,  which  was  the  main  thing  I 
regarded,  and  should  also  have  the  more  variety  of  ula?es 
to  attempt  an  escape  from  them." 

On  the  3d  October  they  sailed  from  the  Bashee  Isles 
leaving,  for  the  first  time,  a  somewhat  favourable  impres- 
sion of  their  characters,  and  bearing  away  grateful  and 
affectionate  remembrances  of  this  gentle  and  amiable 
tribe.  They  steered  S.  S.  W.,  with  the  wind  at  W.  and  fair 
weather ;  and  passed  certain  islands  which  lie  by  the 
north  end  of  Luconia.  Leaving  the  coast  of  this  island 
and  with  it  "all  their  golden  prospects',"  they  steered 
southward,  keeping  to  the  east  of  the  Philippines,  and  on 
the  15th  anchored  between  the  two  small  islands  named 
idigar  and  Sarangan,  near  the  south-east  end  of  Min- 
danao; and  next  day,  at  the  north-west  end  of  the  most 
easterly  of  the  islands,  found  a  fit  place  to  careen  and  refit 
the  ship.  While  they  lay  here  the  nephew  of  the  sultan, 
who,  in  name  of  his  uncle,  had  formerly  been  treating  with 
Captain  Swan  to  visit  and  garrison  his  island,  and  take  in 
a  cargo  of  spice,  came  on  board  and  requested  a  passage 
home,  as  they  were  understood  to  be  going  southward. 
From  him  they  obtained  intelligence  of  Captain  Swan  and 
their  deserted  comrades  who  had  been  fighting  under  Rajah 
Laut  with  a  hostile  tribe  m  the  interior.  The  English- 
men  had  conducted  themselves  so  bravely  in  fight  that  thev 
were  now  in  high  favour  at  Mindanao;  though  it  was 
feared  they  had  been  found  too  powerful  and  useful  as  allies 
B  b  2 


294  FATE  OF  CAPTAIN  SWAN. 

to  be  permitted  easily  to  leave  their  new  service.  Swan 
had  for  some  time  been  attempting,  unsuccessfully,  to  lure 
a  vessel  to  convey  him  to  Fort  St.  George. 

At  this  time  Dampier  took  an  opportunity  of  persuading 
the  men  to  return  to  their  duty,  to  carry  the  ship  back  to 
the  river  of  Mindanao,  and  give  her  up  to  the  true  com- 
mander ;  but  before  this  could  be  effected,  one  man,  who 
seemed  the  most  zealously  to  embrace  the  proposal,  gave 
information,  and  Captain  Read  deemed  it  prudent  to  weigh 
anchor  with  all  expedition,  and  without  waiting  the  arrival 
of  the  prince,  to  whom  a  passage  had  been  promised.  Read 
held  a  course  south-west,  and  once  more  disappointed  the 
hopes  of  Dampier,  who  believed  that,  by  carrying  home  the 
young  chief,  they  might,  at  his  uncle's  island,  establish  a 
factory  and  a  lawful  traffic. 

The  ultimate  fate  of  Captain  Swan,  of  whom  we  are 
now  to  lose  si^ht,  was  not  a  little  painful.  Two  supercar- 
goes or  merchants  of  the  ship,  Harthop  and  Smith,  died  at 
Mindanao  ;  and  when  the  commander,  after  a  series  of 
vexations  and  disappointments,  was  going  out  to  a  Dutch 
vessel  which  lay  in  the  river,  hoping  to  get  away  at  last,  the 
boat  was  run  down  by  the  emissaries  of  Rajah  Laut,  and 
Swan  and  the  surgeon  were  either  drowned  or  killed  in  the 
water.  The  property  of  the  English  captain  was  imme- 
diately seized  by  the  perfidious  chief,  who  justified  his  con- 
duct by  imputing  as  crimes  to  the  unfortunate  Englishman 
the  idle  impotent  threats  wrung  from  him  by  hope  deferred, 
irritation,  and  grief. 

The  Cygnet  continued  her  bootless  voyage  among  the 
islands  and  channels  of  the  Philippines  on  to  the  Spice 
Isles,  and  anchored  off  Celebes,  where  the  seamen, obtained 
a  supply  of  turtle,  and  found,  among  other  shellfish,  cockles 
of  so  monstrous  a  size  that  the  meat  of  one  of  them  made  a 
meal  for  seven  or  eight  persons.  It  was  palatable  and  whole 
some.  Here  they  also  found  a  vine,  of  which  the  leaves, 
pounded  and  boiled  with  lard,  made  an  infallible  sea-salve. 
One  of  the  company  liad  formerly  learned  its  uses  from  the 
Indians  of  the  Darien  ;  and  most  of  the  seamen  now  laid 
up  a  store,  such  as  had  ulcers  finding  great  benefit  from  its 
healing  properties.  On  the  29th  November  they  left  this 
place  ;  and  after  encountering  the  dangers  of  the  shoals 
which  surround  Celebes,  and  experiencing  fierce  tornadoes, 


ISLAND   OF    BOUTON.  295 

on  the  1  st  December  saw,  and  on  the  5th  approached,  the 
northwest  end  of  the  island  of  Bouton.  On  the  evening 
of  the  30th  they  had  seen  at  a  distance  two  or  three  water- 
spouts, but  escaped  them  all. 

An  Indian  who  spoke  the  Malay  tongue  came  on  board 
at  this  time  with  some  of  the  turtle-strikers,  and  informed 
them  of  a  good  harbour  on  the  east  side  of  Bouton,  for 
which  they  sailed.  They  came  to  anchor  within  a  league 
of  Callasusung,  a  clean  and  handsome  town,  situated  upon 
a  hill  in  the  middle  of  a  fertile  plain,  surrounded  with  cocoa- 
trees.  The  people  resembled  the  inhabitants  of  Mindanao, 
and  their  houses  were  built  in  the  same  style  ;  but  they 
appeared  in  all  respects  more  "  neat  and  tight."  They 
were  Mohammedans,  and  spoke  the  Malay  language.  The 
same  description  seems  to  fit  every  sultan  whom  the  voy- 
agers saw,— "a little  man  about  forty  or  fifty,  with  a  great 
many  wives  and  children."  Unaware  of  the  exact  character 
of  his  visiters,  the  Sultan  of  Bouton  was  pleased  to  hear 
that  they  were  English,  and  made  them  a  visit  in  a  hand- 
somely ornamented  proa,  with  a  white  silk  flag  displayed  at 
the  masthead,  edged  with  red,  and  having  in  the  centre, 
neatly  painted,  the  device  of  the  prince,— a  green  griffin 
trampling  upon  a  dragon  or  winged  serpent. 

They  had  no  object  in  remaining  here ;  and  as  a  forlorn 
hope,  or  from  curiosity,  resolved  to  steer  for  New- Holland, 
"  to  see  what  that  country  could  afford  them."  In  leaving 
Bouton  they  got  among  shoals,  and  it  was  about  three  weeks 
before  they  passed  Timor,  and  got  clear  of  all  the  dangers 
of  this  chain.  They  stood  off  south,  and  on  the  4th  Janu- 
ary fell  in  with  the  north-west  coast  of  New-Holland  in  16° 
50".  They  ran  close  in,  but  found  no  safe  anchoring- 
ground,  as  the  coast  lay  open  to  the  N.  E.  They  steered 
for  about  twelve  leagues  N.  E.  by  E.,  keeping  close  in  by 
the  shore,  and  reached  a  point,  three  leagues  to  the  east- 
ward of  which  they  found  a  deep  bay  with  many  islets,  and 
finally  anchored  at  about  a  mile  from  the  land.  Seeino- 
people  walking  on  the  shore,  a  canoe  was  sent  off,  but  the 
natives  ran  away  and  hid  themselves  ;  and  though  traces 
of  fires  were  seen,  no  habitation  could  be  discovered.  Toys 
and  trinkets  were  left  on  the  shore  at  such  places  as  the 
people  were  likely  to  find  them. 

The  coast  here  was  low  and  level,  with  sandbanks.     No 


290  NORTH    COAST    OF   NEW-HOLLAND. 

water  could  be  found,  though  at  several  places  old  wells  were 
seen  dry  in  the  sandy  bays.  Having  failed  of  their  object 
on  the  mainland,  neither  provisions  nor  water  being  found, 
nor  a  hope  of  them,  some  of  the  boats  visited  the  islands  in 
the  bay,  and  surprised  a  party  of  the  natives.  The  men  at 
first  threatened  the  intruders,  and  showed  their  lances  and 
swords  ;  but  the  noise  of  a  single  gun  frightened  them,  and 
the  women  seemed  in  very  great  alarm.  Screaming,  they 
ran  away  with  their  children,  while  the  men  stood  to  parley. 
Those  who  from  sickness  or  feebleness  were  unable  to  fol- 
low, lay  still  by  their  fires  uttering  doleful  lamentations ; 
but  when  it  was  seen  that  no  harm  was  intended  them,  they 
bec-rime  tranquil,  and  many  of  the  fugitives  returned. 

The  Bucaniers  had  entertained  no  design  against  these 
wretched  people  more  flagitious  than  to  make  them  labour 
in  carrying  the  water-casks  to  the  boats.  To  this  they  tri«  d 
to  bribe  them  with  ragged  shirts  and  old  breeches,  finery 
which  could  have  charmed  some  of  the  insular  families  of 
the  Pacific,  though  they  were  totally  disregarded  by  the  inert 
nati\es  of  New-HoUand,  whose  first  associations  with  Eu- 
ropean finery  were  connected  with  hard  and  compulsory 
labour.  "  We  put  them  on  them,"  says  Dampier,  speaking 
of  the  tattered  rags  of  the  Bucaniers,  "  thinking  this  finery 
would  make  them  work  heartily  for  us  ;  and  our  water  be- 
ing filled  in  barrels  of  about  six  gallons,  we  brought  these 
new  servants  to  the  wells,  and  put  a  barrel  on  each  of  their 
shoulders  to  carry  to  the  canoe.  But  all  the  signs  we  could 
make  were  to  no  purpose  ;  for  they  stood  like  statues  with- 
out motion,  but  grinned  like  so  many  monkeys,  staring  upon 
one  another."  It  was  found  that  they  had  not  even  strength 
sufficient  for  the  task  of  being  carriers  of  water  ;  and  Dam- 
pier  believed  that  an  English  shipboy  of  ten  years  old  would 
have  been  able  to  bear  heavier  burdens  than  these  feeble 
savages.  "  So  we  were  forced,"  he  says,  "  to  carry  our 
water  ourselves ;  and  they  very  fairly  put  the  clothes  off 
again,  and  laid  them  down,  as  if  clothes  were  only  to  work 
in.  I  did  not  perceive,"  he  adds,  "  that  they  had  any  great 
liking  to  them  at  first ;  neither  did  they  seem  to  admire  any 
thing  we  had."  In  the  estimation  of  Dampier,  the  natives 
of  New-Holland  were  lower  in  the  scale  of  humanity  than 
any  tribe  of  which  he  had  ever  heard,  the  Hottentots  not 
excepted.  "  Setting  aside  their  human  shape,"  he  says, 


NATIVES  OF  THE  COAST.         297 

M  they  differ  but  little  from  brutes.  They  are  tall,  straight- 
bodied,  and  thin,  with  long  small  limbs.  They  have  great 
heads,  round  foreheads,  and  great  brows.  Their  eyelids 
are  always  half-closed  to  keep  the  flies  out  of  their  eyes,  so 
that  they  never  open  their  eyes  like  other  people ;  and 
therefore  they  cannot  see  far,  unless  they  hold  up  their 
heads  as  if  they  were  looking  at  somewhat  over  them. 
They  have  great  bottle-noses,  pretty  full  lips,  and  wide 
mouths.  The  two  foreteeth  of  their  upper  jaw  are  wanting 
in  all  of  them,  men  and  women,  old  and  young.  Whether 
they  draw  them  out  I  know  not ;  neither  have  they  any 
beards.  They  are  long-visaged,  and  of  a  very  unpleasant 
aspect,  having  no  one  graceful  feature  in  their  faces. 
Their  hair  is  black,  short,  and  curled,  like  that  of  negroes  ; 
and  the  colour  of  their  skins  coal-black,  like  that  of  the  ne- 
groes in  Guinea.  They  have  no  sort  of  clothes,  but  a  piece 
of  the  rind  of  a  tree  tied  as  a  girdle  about  their  waists,  into 
which  is  thrust  a  handful  of  long  grass  or  small  green  leafy 
boughs.  They  have  no  houses,  lying  in  the  open  air  with- 
out covering,  the  earth  their  bed,  the  heaven  their  canopy." 
They  lived  in  groups  or  families  of  from  twenty  to  thirty, 
men,  women,  and  children ;  their  only  food  being  a  small 
kind  of  fish  which  they  caught  at  floodtide  in  a  sort  of  weirs. 
Few  shellfish  were  seen  among  them.  Yet  even  these 
miserable  people  were  redeemed  to  humanity  by  the  posses- 
sion of  some  good  qualities.  Whatever  they  caught  was 
fairly  divided.  Were  it  little  or  much,  every  one  had  a 
share  of  the  bounty  that  Providence  had  sent,  "  the  old  and 
feeble  who  were  unable  to  go  abroad,  as  well  as  the  young 
and  lusty."  This  disinterestedness,  with  their  bold  defence 
of  the  women  and  children  on  the  first  appearance  of  the 
Europeans  and  the  startling  report  of  firearms,  is,  however, 
iill  that  can  be  said  in  praise  of  apparently  the  most  abject 
and  wretched  tribe  of  the  great  human  family.  When  they 
had  consumed  what  was  caught,  they  lay  down  till  next 
low-water,  and  then  all  who  were  able  to  crawl,  be  it  night 
or  day,  went  to  examine  the  weirs.  No  iron  was  seen 
among  these  people ;  but  they  had  wooden  swords,  and  a 
kind  of.  lance  like  a  long  pole,  sharpened  at  the  upper  end, 
and  hardened  by  heat. 

No  sort  of  quadruped  was  seen  here ;  but  there  were  a 
few  land  and  sea  birds,  and  plenty  of  manatee  and  turtle, 


298  THE    NICOBAR    ISLANDS. 

though  the  natives  had  never  learned  to  strike  them.  They 
had  neither  boats,  canoes,  nor  rafts,  but  could  swim  between 
the  islands  of  the  bay.  No  form  of  worship  was  discerned 
among  them  ;  and  though  they  greedily  devoured  rice, 
manatee,  or  whatever  was  given  them,  their  minds  never 
once  appeared  awakened  to  any  feeling  of  interest  or  cu- 
riosity. Four  men  who  were  caught  swimming,  and  brought 
on  board  the  ship,  were  sensible  to  nothing  but  the  food 
which  they  devoured  and  the  delight  of  getting  away.  The 
wonders  around  them, — the  British  ship  and  her  strange 
company, — which  would  have  charmed  many  of  the  tribes 
of  Polynesia  to  an  ecstasy  of  surprise,  were  unnoticed  by 
the  savages  of  this  part  of  New-Holland. 

The  Mosquito-men  were  busily  employed  during  the  time 
that  the  ship  was  cleaned  and  the  sails  repaired  ;  nor  did 
Dampier  miss  the  opportunity  of  once  again  persuading  his 
messmates  to  go  to  some  English  factory  and  surrender  the 
vessel  and  themselves.  The  threat  of  being  left  on  this 
barren  and  melancholy  coast,  among  the  most  wretched  of 
the  human  race,  compelled  him  to  consult  his  prudence 
rather  than  his  duty,  and  to  wait  a  fairer  chance  of  escape. 

The  destination  of  the  Cygnet  was  still  Cape  Comorin ; 
and  on  the  4th  of  May  they  made  the  Nicobar  Islands,  the 
chief  commodities  of  which  were  ambergris  and  fruits, 
which  the  inhabitants  disposed  of  to  any  European  vessels 
that  chanced  to  visit  them.  Dampier  now  openly  expressed 
his  intention  of  leaving  the  ship ;  and  Captain  Read,  be- 
lieving that  he  could  not  more  effectually  punish  his  refrac- 
tory shipmate  than  by  granting  his  wish,  and  leaving  him 
at  this  island,  at  once  gave  him  leave  to  go  on  shore.  Lest 
Read  might  change  his  mind,  Dampier  immediately  lowered 
his  bedding  and  chest,  and  got  some  one  to  row  him  to  the 
land.  He  had  not  been  long  on  shore  when  a  party  were 
sent  from  the  ship  to  bring  him  back,  and  he  complied, 
aware  that  if  he  persisted  in  going  away  against  their  will, 
the  Bucaniers  would  not  hesitate  to  make  a  descent  on  the 
coast  and  kill  some  of  the  natives,  who  would  in  turn  re- 
venge themselves  on  him.  On  returning  to  the  ship,  he 
found  that  his  spirited  example  had  moved  some  of  the  other 
persons  who  had  long  entertained  a  similar  design  of  effect- 
ing their  escape,  and  three  of  them  now  joined  his  party,  of 
whom  the  surgeon  was  one.  The  captain  and  crew  re- 


DAMPIER  LEAVES  THE  BUCANIERS.     299 

fused  on  any  terms  to  let  the  surgeon  depart ;  but  after 
some  altercation  Dampier  and  his  two  companions,  on  a  fine 
clear  moonlight  night,  were  landed  and  left  in  a  sandy  bay 
of  this  unknown  island.  One  of  the  seamen  who  rowed 
them  ashore  stole  an  axe  and  gave  it  to  them,  as  the  means 
of  propitiating  the  natives,  or  of  buying  provisions.  They 
were  speedily  joined  by  four  Acheenese  previously  found  in 
a  captured  proa,  whom  Captain  Read  released  before  setting 
sail ;  and  now  they  fancied  themselves  strong  enough  to 
row  to  Sumatra.  A  Portuguese,  taken  prisoner  by  the  Buc- 
aniers  long  before,  was  also  landed,  and  the  party  of  eight 
considered  itself  able  for  defence  if  attacked  by  the  natives, 
though  no  one  offered  to  disturb  them. 

From  the  owner  of  an  empty  hut  in  which  they  slept  they 
bought  a  canoe  with  the  stolen  axe,  and,  placing  their  goods 
in  it,  embarked  for  Acheen.  It  upset  as  soon  as  under 
way,  and  though  no  life  was  lost,  their  clothes  were  wetted, 
and  what  to  Dampier  was  of  far  greater  importance,  the 
journals  of  many  years  and  his  drafts  were  damaged. 
Three  days  were  spent  in  drying  their  things,  and  altering 
the  canoe  into  a  sailing-boat,  which  was  expertly  done  by 
the  Acheenese,  who  fitted  her  with  a  mast,  outriggers,  and 
a  suit  of  mat-sails.  With  the  natives,  who  watched  all  their 
movements,  though  more  from  curiosity  than  suspicion, 
they  bartered  rags  and  strips*  of  cloth  for  mellory,f — a  fruit 
the  size  of  the  bread-fruit,  shaped  like  a  pear,  with  a  tough, 
smooth,  light-green  rind,  which  Dampier  asserts  is  confined 
to  these  islands.  They  also  obtained  cocoa  nuts,  which  the 
Acheenese  gathered,  and  might  have  had  hogs,  but  that  they 
did  not  choose  to  disgust  their  Malayan  friends,  who  were 
Mohammedans.  Once  more  they  embarked  in  their  frail  ves- 
sel, their  only  guides  a  pocket-compass  with  which  Dampier 
had  provided  himself,  and  a  sketch  of  the  Indian  Seas, 
which,  contemplating  escape,  he  had  previously,  from  a 
chart  in  the  ship,  copied  into  his  pocket-book. 

They  had  been  out  three  days  when  the  weather  became 
threatening,  and  soon  rose  to  a  tempest.  We  shall  employ 

*  A  strip  of  cloth  which  those  islanders  wear  attached  to  their  slight 
covering  led  Linnaeus  into  the  ludicrous  mistake  of  asserting,  on  the 
authority  of  an  ignorant  Swedish  sailor,  that  here  existed  a  race  of  men 
with  tails. 

1  The  mcll&ri  of  the  Nicobars,  called  by  the  natives  larum,  is  a  species 
f  bread-fruit,  said  to  be  superior  even  to  that  of  Otaheite. 


300  VOYAGE    TO   ACHEEN. 

the  striking  language  of  Dampier  himself  to  describe  what 
followed,  nor,  while  it  reveals  so  much  of  his  true  character 
and  feelings,  could  a  better  specimen  of  his  more  elevated 
and  earnest  style  he  easily  selected  : — "  The  wind  continued 
increasing  all  the  afternoon,  and  the  sea  still  swelled  higher 
and  often  broke,  but  did  us  no  damage  ;  for  the  ends  of  the 
vessel  being  very  narrow,  he  that  steered  received  and  broke 
the  sea  on  his  back,  and  so  kept  it  from  coming  in,  which 
we  were  forced  to  keep  heaving  out  continually.  The  eve- 
ning of  this  day  was  very  dismal.  The  sky  looked  very  black, 
being  covered  with  dark  clouds.  The  wind  blew  hard,  and 
the  seas  ran  high.  The  sea  was  already  roaring  in  a  white 
foam  about  us  ;  a  dark  night  coming  on,  no  land  to  shelter 
us,  and  our  little  bark  in  danger  to  be  swallowed  by  every 
wave  ;  and,  what  was  worst  of  all,  none  of  us  thought  our- 
selves prepared  for  another  world.  I  had  been  in  many  im- 
minent dangers  before  now,  but  the  worst  of  them  all  was 
but  play-game  in  comparison  with  this.  I  had  long  before 
this  repented  me  of  that  roving  course  of  life,  but  never  with 
such  concern  as  now.  I  did  also  call  to  mind  the  many  mi- 
raculous acts  of  God's  providence  towards  me  in  the  whole 
course  of  my  life,  of  which  kind,  I  believe,  few  men  have 
met  the  like.  And  for  all  these  I  returned  thanks  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner,  and  once  more  desired  God's  assistance,  and 
composed  my  mind  as  well  as  I  could  in  the  hopes  of  it,  and, 
as  the  event  showed,  I  was  not  disappointed  of  my  hopes. 
Submitting  ourselves  therefore  to  God's  good  providence, 
and  taking  all  the  care  we  could  to  preserve  our  lives,  Mr. 
Hall  and  I  took  turns  to  steer,  and  the  rest  to  heave  out  the 
•water ;  and  thus  we  provided  to  spend  the  most  doleful 
night  I  ever  was  in." 

The  pious  trust  of  Dampier  and  his  companions  did  not 
fail  them.  After  enduring  great  hardship,  they  reached  a 
small  fishing  village  in  a  river's  mouth  of  the  Island  of  Su- 
matra, at  which  their  companions,  the  Malays  of  Acheen, 
were  previously  acquainted.  They  were  so  much  exhausted 
when  they  arrived  here  as  to  be  unable  to  row  their  canoe 
to  the  village, — another  example  of  the  sudden  prostration 
of  strength  to  which  persons  who  have  been  in  imminent 
jeopardy  are  liable  as  soon  as  the  danger  appears  to  be  past. 
The  people  of  the  place  assisted  them  in,  and  a  chief  who 
came  to  see  them,  being  given  to  understand  that  they  were 


DAMPIER  MEETS  MORGAN  AT  ACHEEN.   301 

prisoners  escaped  like  the  Acheenese  from  pirates,  treated 
them  with  great  kindness.  A  house  was  provided  for  their 
reception,  and  far  more  provisions  sent  to  it  than  they  could 
use,  as  they  were  all  sick  from  excessive  fatigue,  and  the 
cold  and  heat  to  which  they  had  alternately  been  exposed, 
now  scorching  unsheltered  in  the  noontide  sun,  and  again 
bleaching  in  the  chill  rains  of  midnight.  After  resting  for 
ten  days,  though  not  yet  restored  to  health,  they  entreated 
to  be  allowed  to  proceed  to  Acheen  to  their  countrymen ; 
and  they  were  provided  with  a  large  proa,  and  permitted  to 
depart.  On  their  arrival  at  Acheen  they  were  strictly  ex- 
amined by  the  native  magistrate,  and  then  given  up  to  the 
care  of  an  Irish  gentleman  connected  with  the  factory. 
The  Portuguese  died,  and  Ambrose,  one  of  the  Englishmen 
who  left  the  Cygnet,  did  not  long  survive  him.  Dampier, 
originally  robust,  and  whose  constitution  was  now  by  his 
hardy  mode  of  life  almost  invincible,  recovered,  though 
slowly  ;  the  remedies  of  a  Malay  doctor,  to  whose  care  he 
was  committed,  having  proved  worse  than  the  original 
disease. 

When  his  health  was  somewhat  re-established,  Dampier 
made  a  voyage  to  Nicobar  with  Captain  Dowry,  an  English 
captain  who  traded  to  different  parts  of  India.  His  next 
voyage  was  to  Tonquin  with  Captain  Weldon,  with  whom 
he  afterward  went  to  Malacca,  and  thence  to  Fort  St. 
George,  where  he  remained  for  five  months,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Bencooten,  to  a  factory  lately  established  by  the 
English  on  what  was  at  that  time  called  the  West-coast. 
Here  he  also  officiated  for  five  months  as  gunner  of  the  fort. 
While  at  Acheen,  after  returning  from  Malacca,  Dam- 
pier  met  with  Mr.  Morgan,  a  former  shipmate  in  the 
Cygnet,  from  whom  he  learned  the  fortunes  of  the  Bucn- 
niers.  After  he  had  left  them  at  Nicobar,  they  steered  for 
Ceylon,  but  by  stress  of  weather  were  compelled  to  seek 
refreshments  upon  the  coast  of  Coromandel.  Half  the 
crew  at  this  time  left  the  ship,  part  of  whom  afterward 
found  their  way  to  Agra,  and  entered  the  service  of  tho 
Mogul  as  guards  ;  but  upon  the  offer  of  a  pardon  from  the 
English  governor  at  Fort  St.  George,  they  repaired  to  that 
garrison.  The  Cygnet  reached  Madagascar,  where  the 
pirates  entered  the  service  of  some  petty  prince  then  at  war 
with  a  neighbouring  chief. 

Cc 


302  BUCANIERS    OF    THE    SOUTH    SEA. 

We  m.iy  here  take  a  farewell  glance  of  the  Bucanienr, 
and  especially  of  those  left  by  Dumpier  in  the  South  Sea. 
In  pursuing  their  old  vocation  they  became  more  successful 
after  the  Cygnet  crossed  the  Pacific.  They  captured  many 
,  :md  revelled  in  the  plunder  of  several  towns  ; 
sometimes  cruising  together,  but  as  often  in  detached 
bands.  Townley  was  so  far  fortunate  as  to  obtain  with  ease 
at  Lavelia  the  treasure  and  merchandise  landed  from  the 
Lima  ship  on  the  former  year,  for  which  Swan  had  watched 
so  long  in  vain,  and  for  which  the  whole  Bucanier  force 
had  battled  in  the  Bay  of  Panama.  Townley  afterward 
died  of  wounds  received  in  another  attack.  The  French 
party  stormed  Granada  ;  and  Groignet,  dying  of  his  wounds, 
was  succeeded  by  Le  Picard.  Harris  followed  Swan  across 
the  Pacific  ;  and  Knight,  satiated  with  plunder,  returned 
by  Cape  Horn  to  the  West  Indies, — those  of  his  party  \\lio 
had  in  gambling  lost  their  share  of  the  pillage  remaining  in 
the  Bachelor's  Delight.  The  narrative  of  the  traverses  of 
this  vessel  on  the  coasts  of  Peru  and  New  Spain,  written 
by  Lionel  Wafer,  who  remained  with  Davis  while  Dampier 
followed  Swan,  possesses  considerable  interest.  Davis 
generally  kept  apart  from  the  French  freebooters,  but 
joined  them  at  an  attack  on  Guayaquil,  where  the  Buca- 
niers  amicably  divided  a  rich  booty.  The  French  partyr 
among  whom,  however,  there  were  many  Englishmen,  after- 
ward made  their  way  overland,  and  with  great  difficulty 
from  the  Bay  of  Amapalla  to  the  head  of  a  river  which 
falls  into  the  Caribbean  Sea,  each  man  with  his  silver  and 
gold  on  his  back,  the  fortunate  and  cunning  hiring  as 
porters  the  comrades  they  had  previously  stripped  at  the 
gamin  jT-table. 

Davis,  who  during  his  long  cruise  had  frequently  re- 
mained for  weeks  at  Cocos  Island  and  the  Galapagos  group, 
now  sailed  from  Guayaquil  to  these  islands,  to  careen  and 
victual  his  ship  previous  to  leaving  the  South  Sea  by  Cape 
Horn.  The  Galapagos*  were  become  to  the  Bucaniers  in 
the  South  Sea  what  Tortuga  had  been  to  their  predecessors 

*  The  captain  of  an  English  shin,  which  made  a  voyage  In  the  Pacific 
in  1794,— one  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the  retreat  of  the  Bucanier* 
from  the  South  Sen,— relates  that  he  found  the  remains  of  their  seats 
made  of  turf  and  stones,  empty  jars  like  those  in  which  the  Peruvian 
wine  is  kept,  and  nails,  daggers,  and  other  articles  left  by  them. 


SUPPRESSION    OF    BUCANIERING.  303 

in  the  West  Indies.  In  his  run  south  from  the  Galapagos, 
Davis  discovered  Easter  Island,  though  the  merit  of  the 
discovery  was  afterward  claimed  by  the  Dutch  Admiral 
Roggewein,  and  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute.  Davis  at  this 
time  left  five  of  his  men  with  five  negro  slaves  on  Juan 
Fernandez.  They  had  lost  every  farthing  which  they  pos- 
sessed at  the  gaming-table,  and  were  unwilling  to  leave 
the  South  Sea  as  poor  as  they  entered  it.  The  Bachelor's 
Delight  successfully  doubled  Cape  Horn  ;  and  Davis,  who, 
among  the  Bucaniers,  stood  high  in  point  of  character  both 
for  capacity  and  worth,  reached  the  West  Indies  just  in 
time  to  avail  himself  of  the  pardon  offered  by  royal  procla- 
mation. Dampier  afterward  in  England  met  with  his  old 
commander,  whom  he  highly  esteemed. 

Though  the  French  Flibustiers,  countenanced  by  their 
government,  continued  to  flourish  during  the  war  which 
followed  the  accession  of  William  III.  to  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land, and  did  brave  service  to  their  country  in  the  West 
Indies,  bucaniering,  already  severely  checked,  ceased  among 
the  English  from  this  time,  or  shifted  into  the  legitimate 
channel  of  privateer-adventure  ;  yet  for  more  than  twenty 
jears  a  few  desperate  characters,  English  or  English 
Creoles,  outlaws  or  deserters,  pretending  to  be  the  true 
successors  of  the  old  Rovers,  who  had  strictly  limited  their 
depredations  to  the  Spanish  West  Indies,  continued  to  in- 
fest the  commerce  of  every  nation,  and  haunted  every  sea 
from  Cape  Wrath  to  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
wherever  robbery  could  be  practised  with  impunity,  whether 
on  land  or  water.  The  better  to  forward  or  conceal  their 
designs,  these  lawless  ruffians  often  allied  themselves  with 
native  princes,  as  the  new  commander  of  the  Cygnet  had 
done  at  Madagascar.  Of  these  degenerate  descendants  of 
the  Bucaniers  of  America,  the  numerous  crew  of  a  pirate- 
ship  named  the  Revenge,  which  was  captured  among  the 
Orkney  Isles,  suffered  by  the  sentence  of  the  Court  of  Ad- 
miralty so  late  as  1724.* 

While  Dampier  was  at  Fort  St.  George  an  English  ves- 
sel arrived  from  Mindanao  laden  with  clove-bark,  having 
on  board  an  Indian  prince  he  had  formerly  seen  a  slave  at 

*  We  need  scarcely  remind  the  reader  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  romance 
The  Pirate. 


304  THE    TATTOOED    PRINCE: 

that  place,  and  whom  Mr.  Moody,  the  supercargo  of  the 
ship,  had  purchased  from  his  owner.  This  prince  was 
from  the  islands  named  Meangis,  which  he  said  abounded 
in  gold  and  cloves  ;  and  it  had  been  a  favourite  specula- 
tion with  Dampier  to  establish  a  factory,  and  open  a  trade 
there,  which  might  have  been  managed  from  Mindanao. 
This  scheme  was,  however,  blown  to  air  ;  and  Prince 
Jeoly,  whom  Dampier  while  at  that  island  had  proposed  to 
purchase  from  his  master  to  be  his  guide  and  introducer, 
was  now  on  the  way  to  England  to  be  exhibited  as  a  show. 
Mr.  Moody,  who  had  purchased  Jeoly,  was  meanwhile  ap- 
pointed to  the  factory  of  Indrapoor,  then  just  established 
on  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra ;  and  to  induce  Dampier  to 
accompany  him  to  this  station,  and  take  charge  of  the 
guns,  promised  that  a  vessel  should  be  purchased  in  which 
he  might  realise  his  old  scheme  of  going  to  Meangis  with 
the  native  prince,  and  establishing  a  commerce  in  cloves 
and  gold.  Being  afterward  unable  to  fulfil  this  promise, 
Moody  not  only  released  his  friend  from  the  engagement 
to  serve  at  Indrapoor,  but  presented  him  with  a  half-share 
of  the  "  painted  prince,"  leaving  him  meanwhile  under  his 
charge.  As  Prince  Jeoly  was  the  first  tattooed  man  ever 
seen  in  Europe,  the  account  given  of  him  by  Dampier  is 
still  curious.  The  islands  from  which  he  came  lay  about 
twenty  leagues  from  Mindanao,  bearing  S.  E.  They  were 
three  in  number,  small  but  fertile,  and  abounding,  accord- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  prince,  in  gold.  The  abundance 
of  cloves  and  spice  Jeoly,  using  a  common  oriental  figure, 
described  by  showing  the  hairs  of  his  head.  His  father 
was  rajah  of  the  island  on  which  they  lived.  On  it  were 
about  thirty  men  and  a  hundred  women,  of  whom  five  were 
Jeoly's  wives.  By  one  of  his  wives  he  had  been  "  painted." 
He  was  tattooed  down  the  breast,  between  the  shoulders, 
and  on  the  thighs  ;  and  also  round  the  arms  and  legs,  in 
the  form  of  broad  rings  and  bracelets.  The  figures  Dam- 
pier  could  not  compare  to  either  the  outline  of  animals  or 
plants,  but  they  were  full  of  ingenious  flourishes, — and 
showed  a  variety  of  lines  and  checkered  work  in  intricate 
figures.  Upon  the  shoulder-blades  the  lines  and  pattern 
were  peculiarly  elegant.  Most  of  the  men  and  women  of 
Jeoly's  island  were  thus  "  painted."  They  wore  gold 
bracelets  and  anklets,  had  canoes,  and  lived  upon  potatoes, 


DAMPIER    LEAVES    BENCOOLEN.  305 

yams,  fruits,  and  fish.  They  had  also  plenty  of  fowls.  His 
native  language  was  quite  different  from  the  Malayan, 
which  he  had  acquired  during  his  slavery.  In  passing 
with  some  of  his  relations  from  one  island  to  another,  their 
canoe  had  been  driven  by  a  violent  tempest  towards  the 
coast  of  Mindanao,  and  they  were  all  made  prisoners  by 
the  Mindanaian  fishermen,  who  stripped  them  of  their 
golden  ornaments,  and  sold  them  for  slaves. 

With  his  situation  at  the  fort  of  Bencoolen  Dampier 
found  much  reason  to  be  dissatisfied,  though  the  charactsr 
of  the  governor  was  his  principal  grievance.  But  besides 
his  disgust  with  this  official,  from  whose  treatment  of  others 
Dampier  drew  no  favourable  augury  for  himself,  he  began 
strongly  to  experience  the  stirrings  of  that  longing  after 
his  native  country  to  which  every  wanderer  is  at  last  sub- 
jected ;  and  though  his  pecuniary  affairs  were  in  greater 
disorder  than  on  the  day  he  embarked  with  the  Bucaniers, 
and  he  had  been  glad  to  earn  two  dollars,  his  sole  treasure, 
by  teaching  plain  sailing  to  the  lads  of  Weldon's  ship,  he 
sanguinely  promised  himself  a  fortune  from  Prince  Jeoly, 
«ind  hoped  that  in  England  he  might  be  able  to  obtain  a 
ship  to  carry  back  the  chief  to  his  native  island,  where, 
thus  introduced,  he  could  not  fail  to  establish  a  lucrative 
trade  in  gold  and  spices.  Mr.  Moody  had  meanwhile  dis- 
posed of  the  share  which  he  retained  of  the  unfortunate 
captive  to  the  mate  of  an  India  ship  bound  for  England, 
and  with  this  vessel  Dampier  wished  to  return  home  him- 
self, though  the  capricious  and  tyrannical  governor,  who 
had  at  first  consented  to  his  departure,  at  the  time  of  the 
ship's  sailing  revoked  the  permission,  nor  yielded  to  any 
entreaties,  though  the  captain  and  others  importuned  him 
to  let  the  long-absent  wanderer  return  to  his  country.  The 
day  before  the  ship  sailed  Dampier  crept  at  midnight 
through  a  port-hole  of  the  fort,  abandoning  all  his  property, 
save  his  journal  and  manuscripts,  for  the  chance  of  free- 
dom and  of  reaching  home.  The  mate  of  the  ship,  his 
new  partner  in  Jeoly,  by  previous  agreement  waited  for 
him  with  a  boat,  and  kept  him  concealed  on  board  till  the 
vessel  sailed,  which  it  did  on  the  25th  January,  1691. 

The  voyage,  from  the  illness  of  the  crew,  proved  tedious 
and  troublesome,  but  it  was  completed  at  last ;  though  the 
same  bad  fortune  which  hud  attended  Dampier  at  so  many 


306  DAMPIER    PUBLISHES    HIS    VOYAGES. 

turns  of  life  deprived  him  of  all  advantage  from  bringing 
home  Jeoly.  He  arrived  in  the  Thames  in  utter  poverty, 
and  was  compelled  by  necessity  to  sell  his  share  of  "  the 
painted  prince  ;"  thus  for  ever  renouncing  the  romantic 
project  of  carrying  him  back  to  Meangis,  which  poor  Jeoly 
was  destined  never  again  to  revisit.  After  being  seen  by 
many  "  eminent  persons,"  he  caught  the  small-pox  at  Ox- 
ford, and  died. 

Of  Dampier  at  this  time  we  hear  no  more.  The  narra- 
tive of  his  eight  years'  ramble  round  the  globe  breaks  off 
abruptly  by  saying,  "  We  luffed  in  for  the  Downs,  where  we 
anchored,  Sept.  16th,  1691." 

All  that  can  now  be  learned, — all,  perhaps,  that  is  de- 
sirable or  important  is,  that  in  the  following  year  Dampier 
published  his  "  New  Voyage  round  the  World"  and  after- 
ward a  Supplement,  which  he  entitled  Voyages  and  Descrip- 
tions. The  work  was  dedicated  to  Charles  Montague, 
Esquire,  President  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  a  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Treasury,  with  whom  it  appears  he  had  no 
previous  acquaintance.  Its  intrinsic  merits,  the  charm  of 
the  narrative,  and  the  style,  soon  brought  the  author  into 
notice,  and  the  work  ran  rapidly  through  several  editions, 
and  was  translated  into  French  and  Dutch.  Among  other 
distinctions,  Captain  Lemuel  Gulliver,  at  that  period  a 
navigator  of  very  great  celebrity,  hailed  Dampier,  from 
whom  he  borrowed  many  hints,  as  "  Cousin." 


VOYAGE    TO   NEW-HOLLAND.  307 


CHAPTER  XL 

Voyage  to  New-Holland. 

Voyage  of  Discovery  to  New-Holland  and  New-Guinea — Dampier  on 
the  Coast  of  New-Holland—Dirk  Hartog's  Reede— Appearance  and 
Productions  of  the  Country — Discoveries  on  the  Northern  Coasts- 
Plants  and  Animals— Appearance  and  Character  of  the  Natives- 
Voyage  to  New-Guinea—New  Islands  and  their  Productions— Dis- 
covery of  King  William's  Island— Slingers'  Bay— Manners  of  tlu? 
Natives— Discovery  of  Cape  St.  George  and  Cape  Orford— Natives  of 
Port  Montague— Their  suspicious,  inhospitable  Character— Affray  with 
the  Natives — Volcanic  Island — Discovery  of  Nova  Britannia — Islands 
in  Dampier's  Strait — Return  to  King  William's  Island,  and  Second 
Voyage  to  the  Coast  of  New-Holland — Dampier's  Shipwreck— Un- 
grateful Reception — His  Voyage  in  the  St.  George — Bad  Conduct  of 
his  Officers — Dampier's  Imprisonment  by  the  Dutch — Return  to  Eng- 
land—Voyage in  the  Duke— Testimony  borne  to  his  Merits— Reflec- 
tions on  his  Character  and  Fate— The  End. 

IN  1699,  the  country  being  in  profound  peace,  an  expe- 
dition of  discovery,  highly  honourable  to  the  royal  projector, 
was  ordered  by  William  III.,  the  conduct  of  which  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Admiralty, 
committed  to  Dampier,  who  was  recommended  solely  by 
his  qualifications  as  a  seaman,  his  large  experience,  and 
evident  capacity.  The  countries  which  he  was  particularly 
recommended  to  examine  in  this  voyage  were  New-Holland 
and  New-Guinea.  . 

The  vessel  in  which  Dampier  undertook  the  voyage  to 
New-Holland  was  a  king's  ship  named  the  Roebuck,  old 
and  crazy  before  she  left  the  port.  She  carried  12  guns  and 
a  crew  of  50  men  and  boys,  with  provisions  for  twenty 
months,  and  the  equipments  necessary  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a  voyage  undertaken  for  the  future  promotion  of 
traffic,  but  of  which  the  immediate  object  was  discovery. 
Dampier,  who  had  always  been  fond  of  natural  history,  at 
this  time  carried  a  draughtsman  with  him.  The  Roebuck  left 
the  Downs  on  the  14th  January,  1699,  and  proceeded  pros- 
perously to  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  and  afterward  to  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  where  Dampier  thought  it  necessary  to  put 


SOS         DAMPIER  ARRIVES    AT    NEW-HOLLAND. 

into  some  port,  as  he  intended  at  the  next  stretch  at  once" 
to  reach  New-Holland.  On  the  25th  March  they  anchored 
at  Bahia  de  todos  los  Santos,  where  thirty  large  European 
vessels  then  lay,  besides  other  ships  and  a  multitude  of 
craft.  The  governor  was  named  Don  John  de  Lancaster, 
and,  claiming  to  be  of  high  English  extraction,  was  exceed- 
ingly courteous  to  the  countrymen  of  his  ancestors. 

They  sailed  on  the  23d  April,  and  on  the  following  days 
caught  small  sharks,  which  they  cooked  in  the  Bucanier 
fashion,  and  called  good  fish.  On  their  way  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  they  saw  nothing  more  remarkable  than  the 
carcass  of  a  whale,  about  which  hovered  "  millions"  of  sea- 
fowl,  darkening  the  air  far  around.  They  also  saw  the 
stormy-petrel,  a  bird  resembling  a  swallow,  but  smaller,  and 
which  skims  .like  a  swallow.  Seamen,  naturalists  say  most 
unjustly,  call  them  foul-weather  birds,  and  at  all  times  dis- 
like their  appearance.  "  In  a  storm  they  will  hover  under 
tho  ship's  stern,  in  the  wake  or  smoothness  whicTi  the  ship's 
passing  has  made  on  the  sea  ;  and  there,  as  they  fly  gently, 
they  pat  the  water  alternately  with  their  feet  as  if  they 
walked  upon  it,  though  still  on  the  wing.  Hence  the  sea- 
men give  thorn  their  name  from  Peter  walking  on  the  Lake 
of  Gennesareth." 

The  voyage  proceeded  favourably.  On  4th  July  they 
frequently  made  soundings,  and  90  leagues  from  New-Hol- 
land often  saw  whales,  and  at  30  leagues  bones  of  the  scut- 
tlefish  floating,  and  also  seaweed.  They  were  now  close 
upon  the  western  coast  of  New-Holland,  and  constantly 
sounded.  On  the  morning  of  the  1st  August  they  descried 
land  at  the  distance  of  six  leagues,  but  were  unable  to  find 
a  safe  harbour,  and  from  foul  weather  were  compelled  to 
stand  off  till  the  5th,  when  they  again  approached  the  same 
coast.  Next  morning  they  ran  into  an  opening,  keeping:  a 
boat  sounding  before  the  ship,  and  anchored  at  two  miles 
from  the  shore,  in  the  harbour  named  Dirk  Hartog's  Reedc, 
from  the  first  discoverer,  who  in  1616  had  anchored  here. 
To  this  bay  Dampier  gave  the  name  of  Sharks'  Bay.  He 
lays  it  down  as  in  25°  S.  at  the  mouth. 

The  land  here  is  rather  high,  and  from  sea  appears  level, 
but  is  found  to  be  gently  undulating.  On  the  open  coast 
the  shore  is  bluff;  but.  in  the  bay  the  land  is  low  and  the 
soil  sandy,  producing  a  species  of  samphire.  "  Farther  in" 


NEW   PLANTS,  BIRDS,  AND   FISHES.  309 

—we  now  adopt  Dampier's  description — "  it  is  a  reddish 
mould,  a  sort  of  sand,  producing  grass,  plants,  and  shrubs. 
Of  trees  and  shrubs  there  are  various  sorts,  but  none  above 
ten  feet  high.  Some  of  the  trees  were  sweet-scented,  and 
reddish  within  the  bark  like  sassafras,  but  redder.  The 
blossoms  of  the  different  sorts  of  trees  of  several  colours, 
but  mostly  blue,  and  smelt  very  sweet  and  fragrant.  There 
were  also  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers  growing  on  the 
ground,  unlike  any  I  had  ever  seen  elsewhere."  There 
were  eagles,  but  no  other  large  birds,  and  of  small  singing- 
birds  great  variety,  with  fine  shrill  notes.  Besides  the  ordi- 
nary sea-birds  there  were  many  strange  kinds  quite  new  to 
the  voyager.  The  kangaroo  he  describes  as  a  sort  of  ra- 
coon, differing  from  those  of  the  West  Indies  chiefly  in  the 
legs ;  what  he  calls  the  racoons  of  New-Holland  having 
very  short  fore-legs,  with  which  they  go  jumping  about.  Of 
the  iguanas  of  this  country  Dampier  gives  a  striking  de- 
scription. They  were  inferior  as  food  to  those  with  which 
he  had  been  familiar  in  the  West  Indies  and  the  South  Sea, 
and  when  killed  and  opened  were  very  offensive  in  smell. 
Nothing  can  be  more  loathsome  and  disgusting  than  the  pic- 
ture he  gives  of  this  large  species  of  lizard  (scincus  tropicu- 
rus).  In  Sharks'  Bay,  besides  an  abundance  of  sharks, 
large  green-turtle  were  found,  both  of  which  furnished  wel- 
come refreshment  to  the  seamen.  The  fish  were  skate, 
rays,  and  other  flat  kinds,  with  muscles,  oysters,  and  small 
shellfish.  "  The  shore  was  lined  with  strange  and  beautiful 
shells." 

They  had  anchored  at  three  different  places  to  search  for 
water,  and  on  the  llth,  for  this  purpose,  and  also  to  prose- 
cute discovery,  they  stood  farther  into  the  bay  ;  but  after 
several  abortive  attempts  again  bore  out  to  sea,  having  pre- 
viously scrubbed  the  ship.  Sea-snakes  were  seen  of  differ- 
ent kinds  ;  one  sort  yellow  with  brown  spots,  about  four  feet 
in  length,  and  of  the  thickness  of  a  man's  wrist,  with  a  flat 
tail ;  another  kind  smaller,  shorter,  and  round,  spotted  black 
and  yellow. 

It  was  the  14th  August  when  they  sailed  out  of  this  bay 
or  bight,  and  plied  off  and  on  northward,  keeping  about  six 
or  seven  leagues  from  the  shore,  and  frequently  sounding. 
On  the  15th  they  were  in  latitude  24°  41' ;  on  the  16th  in 
23°  22',  *' jogging  on  northward,"  seeing  in  their  progress 


310  DISCOVERY    OF    ROSEMARY    ISLAND. 

many  email  dolphins  and  whales  and  abundance  of  scuttle- 
fish-shells  and  water-serpents.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
18th,  off  a  shoal  in  22°  22",  of  which  Dampier  kept  clear, 
numerous  whales  were  seen  on  all  sides  of  the  ship,  "  blow- 
ing and  making  a  very  dismal  noise."  When  the  Roebuck 
got  into  deeper  water  these  alarming  fellow- voyagers  left  her. 

On  the  20th  they  were  carried  out  of  sight  of  land,  which 
was  recovered  on  the  21st,  visible  only  from  the  mast,  bear- 
ing south-east  by  east,  and  appearing  at  the  distance  of  nine 
leagues  like  a  bluff  headland.  Around  this  place  was  an 
archipelago  of  islands  of  good  height,  which  Dampier  be- 
lieved to  be  a  range  stretching  from  E.  N.  E.  to  W.  S.  W.  for 
about  twenty  leagues,  or  probably  to  Sharks'  Bay,  and  of 
considerable  depth,  which  he  presumed  might  possibly  afford 
a  passage  to  the  great  South  Sea  eastward.  Next  day  he 
ran  in  among  these  islands,  the  boat  sounding  before.  The 
water  was  of  very  unequal  depth ;  and  the  arid  appearance 
of  the  shores  and  yellow  rusty  colour  of  the  rocks  made  them 
despair  of  finding  water,  though  Dampier,  hoping  that  they 
might  either  discover  a  new  channel  leading  through  to  the 
mainland  of  New-Holland,  or  find  some  sort  of  rich  mineral 
or  ambergris,  for  which  this  was  a  favourable  latitude,  was 
unwilling  to  turn  back.  The  island  near  which  he  rode  he 
named  Rosemary  Island,  as  a  plant*  that  seemed  of  that 
kind  grew  here  in  abundance,  but  was  destitute  of  smell. 
Two  kinds  of  beans  were  found ;  the  one  growing  on  bushes, 
the  other  on  a  creeping  plant  that  ran  along  the  ground. 
Cormorants  and  gulls  were  seen,  and  a  kind  of  white  parrot, 
which  flew  in  large  flocks. 

They  left  this  place  on  the  23d,  and  for  some  time  coasted 
on  with  the  land-breeze,  having  had  since  leaving  Sharks' 
Bay  fine  clear  weather,  which  still  continued.  Water- 
snakes,  whales,  noddies,  and  boobies  were  seen.  On  the 
27th  and  28th  they  were  out  of  sight  of  land,  which  was 
recovered  on  the  30th  in  latitude  18°  21'  S.,  great  smokes 
being  seen  on  the  shore.  This  night  there  was  an  eclipse 
of  the  moon. 

Early  next  day  an  armed  party  of  ten  men  landed  to 

*  The  genus  called  dampiera,  containing  thirteen  species  of  shrubby 
or  perennial  herbaceous  plants,  all  natives  of  New-Holland,  was  named 
in  honour  of  the  celebrated  navigator  by  Mr.  Robert  Brown,  in  his  Pro- 
dromus  Flora?  Novae  Hollandise. 


NATIVES    OF    NEW-HOLLAND.  311 

search  for  water,  carrying  with  them  pickaxes  and  shovels. 
Three  tall,  black,  naked  men  were  seen  on  the  beach,  but 
they  went  away.  The  boat,  lying  at  anchor  a  little  way 
out  in  the  water  to  prevent  seizure,  was  left  in  the  care  of 
two  sailors,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  followed  the  natives, 
who  were  soon  joined  by  eight  or  nine  men.  They  stood 
posted  on  an  eminence,  from  which,  however,  they  fled  on 
the  approach  of  the  Englishmen. 

From  this  height  the  party  descried  a  savanna  studded 
with  what  they  at  first  fancied  to  be  huts,  but  discovered  to 
be  only  rocks,  and  no  water  near  them.  They  returned  to 
the  place  at  which  they  had  landed,  and  began  to  dig,  but 
were  menaced  by  another  party  of  natives  collected  on  an 
adjoining  height,  who  vociferated  with  angry  gestures,  as 
if  they  ordered  the  strangers  to  be  gone.  One  of  them  at 
length  ventured  to  approach,  and  the  rest  followed  at  a  cau- 
tious distance.  Dampier  went  forward  to  meet  them,  mak- 
ing signs  of  peace  and  friendship ;  but  the  leader  fled,  and 
the  others  kept  aloof.  The  want  of  water  made  it  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  establish  a  communication  with  the  na- 
tives, whether  by  fair  or  violent  means ;  and  an  attempt 
was  made  to  catch  some  of  them,  a  nimble  young  man  who 
was  with  Dampier  trying  to  run  them  down.  As  soon  as 
he  overtook  them  they  faced  about  and  fought  him  ;  and 
Dampier,  who  was  himself  assailed,  was  compelled  to  fire 
off  his  musket  in  defence  of  his  man,  who,  though  armed 
with  a  cutlass,  was  unable  to  beat  back  so  many  wooden 
lances.  The  first  shot,  intended  to  scare  but  not  to  injure, 
was  treated,  after  a  momentary  alarm,  with  indifference  or 
contempt.  They  tossed  up  their  arms,  exclaiming,  "Pooh, 
pooh,  pooh  /"  and  pressed  closer  upon  the  seaman ;  and 
Dampier  durst  no  longer  withhold  his  fire.  One  native  fell 
• — bis  friends  paused  in  alarm — and  the  young  seaman 
escaped.  "I  returned  back,"  says  Dampier,  "with  my 
man,  designing  to  attempt  the  natives  no  farther,  being 
very  sorry  for  what  had  happened."  The  young  English- 
man was  wounded  in  the  cheek  by  a  lance.  Among  the 
attacking  party  there  was  one  young  man  who,  from  his 
appearance  and  dignity  of  demeanour,  was  imagined  a  chief 
or  leader ;  yet  this  impression  was  given  by  something  dis- 
tinct from  either  height  of  stature  or  personal  beauty,  for 
the  New-Hollander  was  neither  so  tall  nor  well-made  aa 


312        THE  PEOPLE  AND  COUNTRY. 

some  of  the  others,  but  "  a  hrisk  young  man,"  active  and 
courageous.  He  was  the  only  one  of  the  group  that  was 
painted.  A  circle  drawn  with  some  sort  of  white  pigment 
surrounded  each  of  his  eyes,  and  a  white  streak  reached 
from  the  forehead  to  the  tip  of  the  nose.  His  breast  and 
part  of  his  arms  were  also  stained,  "  not  for  beauty  or  orna- 
ment," it  was  very  rationally  concluded,  "  but  that  he  seemed 
thereby  to  design  the  looking  more  terrible, — this  his  paint- 
ing adding  very  much  to  his  natural  deformity."  Dampier 
imagined  these  New-Hollanders  to  be  of  the  same  nation 
with  those  he  had  seen  when  the  Cygnet  had  touched  on 
this  coast.  "  They  were  the  same  blinking  creatures,"  he 
says,  "  with  the  most  unpleasant  looks  and  worst  features 
of  any  people  I  had  ever  seen."  He  did  not  get  near  enough 
to  discover  if  this  tribe  also  wanted  the  two  fore-teeth,  as 
that  tribe  did.  By  the  old  fireplaces  quantities  of  shells 
were  found  of  the  kinds  of  shellfish  on  which  the  other 
island  tribe  lived,  and  their  lances  were  similar  in  shape. 
The  general  features  of  the  country  at  the  places  visited  on 
this  coast  were  the  same  as  those  already  described, — low, 
with  chains  of  sand-hills,  the  land  round  the  shore  dry  and 
sandy,  bearing  many  shrubs  with  beautiful  blossoms  of  va- 
rious colours  and  of  delicate  fragrance.  Farther  on,  the 
land  was  mixed  woodland  and  savanna.  The  plains  were 
studded  with  detached  rocks  resembling  haycocks  at  a 
distance, — some  red,  and  others  white.  By  subsequent  voy- 
agers these  have  been  taken  for  large  ant-hillocks.  Some 
animals  were  seen  resembling  hungry  wolves,  lean  as 
skeletons. 

Brackish  water  was  at  last  obtained,  which  was  employed 
to  boil  the  oatmeal,  in  order  to  save  what  remained  in  the 
casks  ;  and  our  navigator  on  the  5th  September  left  this  arkl 
and  steril  coast ;  on  the  7th,  in  latitude  16°  9',  and  out  of 
sight  of  land,  stood  out  to  sea;  and  on  the  8th,  in  15°  37', 
shaped  his  course  for  the  Island  of  Timor.  On  the  22d  he 
came  to  anchor  in  Cocpang  Bay,  near  the  Dutch  fort  Con- 
cordia  ;  but  afterward  went  to  Laphao,  a  Portuguese  settle- 
ment on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island. 

After  resting  and  refitting  at  this  fine  island,  the  voyage 
was  prosecuted  to  New-Guinea.  The  Roebuek  sailed  on 
the  20th  December,  and  on  the  1st  January,  1700,  they  de- 
scried the  western  coast  of  this  countr  — high  level  land 


DAMPIER   ARRIVES   AT   NEW-GUINEA.         313 

covered  with  thriving  trees.  Near  the  land  they  were 
assailed  by  tornadoes,  and  black  clouds  hovered  over  it, 
while  at  sea  the  weather  was  clear  and  settled.  On  the  7th 
they  landed,  caught  at  one  haul  above  three  hundred  mack- 
erel, and  next  day  anchored  in  the  mouth  of  a  river,  where 
they  took  in  water.  Fruits  of  unknown  kinds  were  brought 
on  board  by  the  pinnace,  and  one  of  the  men  shot  a  stately 
land-fowl  about  the  size  of  the  dunghill-cock,  sky-coloured, 
but  with  a  white  blotch  and  reddish  spots  about  the  wings, 
and  a  long  bunch  of  feathers  on  the  crown.  From  Fresh- 
water Bay,  which  they  named  this  place,  they  sailed  out  by 
White  Island,  which  was  in  3°  4'  S.,  and  is  distinguished 
by  white  cliffs.  The  Roebuck  beat  up  to  the  northward 
against  currents  and  adverse  winds,  and  passed  many  islets 
and  dangerous  shoals,  occasionally  anchoring  to  obtain 
wood  and  water.  At  an  island  named  by  the  natives  Sa- 
buda,  in  2°  43'  S.,  Dampicr  found  a  tawny  race  closely 
resembling  his  old  friends  at  Mindanao.  Negroes  were  also 
seen  here,  of  the  curly-haired  blacks  which  had  originally 
obtained  for  this  country  the  name  of  New-Guinea.  Some 
of  these  oceanic  negroes  appeared  the  slaves  of  the  yellow 
or  Malay  race.  The  weapons  were  the  same  as  in  Minda- 
nao ;  the  lances  pointed  with  bone.  These  islanders  had  a 
very  ingenious  way  of  making  the  fish  rise.  A  block  of 
wood  carved  like  a  dolphin  was  let  down  into  the  water  by 
a  line,  to  which  a  weight  was  attached  in  order  to  sink  it. 
When  they  had  waited  the  effect  of  their  stratagem  the 
decoy  was  rapidly  raised  by  the  line,  the  fish  followed  it,  and 
the  strikers  stood  ready  prepared. 

Still  plying  northward,  on  the  4th  February  they  reached 
the  north-west  cape  of  New-Guinea,  called  by  the  Dutch 
Cape  Mabo.  A  small  woody  island  lies  off  the  cape,  and 
to  the  north  and  north-east  islets  are  numerous.  The  land 
is  generally  high,  and  covered  with  tall  healthy  timber. 
Near  one  of  these  islands,  which,  from  the  enormous  size 
of  the  cockles  found  at  it,  he  named  Cockle  Island,  Dam- 
pier  had  almost  run  upon  a  shoal,  but  got  off,  and,  coming 
to  anchor,  despatched  the  boats  to  the  island,  from  whence 
pigeons  were  brought,  and  cockles  of  the  moderate  size 
of  ten  pounds.  The  shell  alone  of  one  formerly  found 
weighed  fifty-eight  pounds.  Bats  of  the  large  kind  were 
«een  here 

Dd 


314         FARTHER  DISCOVERY  ON  THE  COAST. 

The  Roebuck  stood  onward  four  or  five  leagues,  shaping 
her  course  to  the  east,  and  at  a  small  woody  island  found 
ordinary-sized  cockles  in  prodigious  abundance,  and  nume- 
rous pigeons.  On  the  7th  they  anchored  at  an  island  finely 
wooded  "  with  tall  straight  trees  fit  for  any  use,"  which 
Dampier  loyally  named  King  William's  Island.  From  the 
time  of  passing  Cape  Mabo  till  the  12th,  the  Roebuck, 
owing  to  easterly  winds,  had  not  advanced  above  thirty 
leagues  to  the  eastward.  When  they  got  to  2°  S.  the  east- 
erly winds  increased,  and  as  they  approached  the  equinoc- 
tial, hung  still  more  easterly.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  12th 
the  wind  shifted  to  a  more  favourable  point,  with  heavy 
rain,  which  continued  for  some  days.  They  descried,  at 
the  distance  of  six  leagues  from  the  shore,  two  headland* 
about  twenty  miles  apart,  one  to  the  east,  the  other  to  the 
west.  The  last  they  named  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On 
the  morning  of  the  15th  they  were  in  danger  of  running 
upon  an  island  not  laid  down  in  their  charts,  which  Dam- 
pier,  in  commemoration  of  the  escape,  named  Providence 
Island.  Large  trees  and  logs  were  this  day  seen  floating, 
which  Dampier  concluded  had  come  out  of  some  of  the 
rivers  of  New- Guinea.  On  the  16th  they  crossed  the  Line. 
The  Roebuck  was  steered  for  an  island  seen  on  the  25th  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  leagues,  supposed  to  be  that  called 
Vischer's  Island  by  the  Dutch ;  but  as  it  was  to  him  un- 
known land,  Dampier  named  it  Matthias  Island.  It  was 
about  ten  leagues  long,  hilly  and  wooded,  but  intersected 
by  savannas  and  open  places.  Another  island,  low,  level 
land,  seven  or  eight  leagues  to  the  eastward  of  this,  was 
named  Squally  Island,  as  they  here  encountered  tornadoes 
so  violent  and  frequent  that  they  durst  not  venture  to 
stand  in. 

Dampier  afterward  stood  for  the  mainland,  encountering 
frequent  and  violent  squalls,  and  steered  for  a  part  of  the 
coast  where  he  saw  many  smokes  arising.  The  islands  he 
had  at  first  passed  were  those  now  known  as  the  Admi- 
ralty Islands.  His  course  had  lain  to  the  northward  of 
them. 

The  land  he  approached  was  mountainous  and  well- 
wooded,  with  large  plantations  and  cleared  patches  lying 
on  the  hill-sides.  The  discoverer  wished  to  have  some  in- 
tercourse with  the  natives  here,  and  was  glad  to  see  boats 


NATIVES  OF  SLINGERS'  BAY.  315 

and  proas  come  off  in  great  numbers.  They  approached 
near  enough  to  make  signs  and  to  be  heard,  but  their  lan- 
guage was  totally  unknown  to  the  voyagers.  They  could 
not  be  induced  to  approach  the  ship  any  closer,  not  even  by 
the  allurement  of  beads,  knives,  or  glasses,  though  some 
beads  floated  to  them  in  a  bottle  were  readily  picked  up, 
and  they  seemed  pleased  with  the  gift.  They  often  struck 
their  left  breast  with  the  right  hand,  and  held  a  black  trun- 
cheon over  their  heads,  as  if  in  token  of  friendship.  It 
was  impossible,  from  the  state  of  the  current,  to  get  the 
ship  into  the  bay  to  which  the  natives  pointed  ;  and  when 
she  wore  off,  they  appeared  angry,  though  they  still  fol- 
lowed in  their  proas,  which  were  now  increased  to  a  formi- 
dable fleet.  The  bays  were  also  lined  with  men.  The 
crew  got  ready  their  small  arms,  and  when  the  ship  fairly 
stood  out,  the  natives  became  so  ill-pleased  that  they 
launched  showers  of  stones  after  her  from  slings.  One 
gun  was  fired  off,  and  some  of  the  slingers  were  conjectured 
to  be  killed  or  wounded.  Dampier  named  this  place  Slino-- 
ers'  Bay. 

Next  day  the  Roebuck  passed  an  island  where  smokes 
were  seen  and  men  in  the  bays,  who  followed  in  three 
canoes,  but  could  not  overtake  the  ship.  This  island  is  the 
Gerrit  Denys  or  Gerard  Dynas  of  the  Dutch.  It  is  high, 
mountainous,  and  woody.  The  hill-sides  were  covered  with 
plantations,  and  in  the  sheltered  bays  there  were  cocoanut- 
trees.  It  seemed  very  populous  ;  the  natives  were  black, 
with  crisp  hair,  which  they  shaved  in  different  figures, 
and  died  of  various  hues.  They  were  strong  and  well- 
limbed,  with  broad  round  faces  and  large  flat  noses,  yet  the 
expression  of  their  countenance,  when  not  disfigured  by 
their  singular  taste  in  ornament,  was  not  unpleasant.  Be- 
sides being  painted,  they  wore  some  kind  of  ornament 
through  their  noses  about  four  inches  long,  and  as  thick  as 
a  man's  thumb.  Their  ears  were  perforated  with  large 
holes  filled  with  similar  decorations.  The  weapons  seen 
were  swords,  lances,  slings,  bows  and  arrows.  The  proaa 
were  ingeniously  built,  and  ornamented  with  carved  figures, 
though  they  had  neither  sail  nor  anchor ;  and  the  natives 
were  expert  and  fearless  in  managing  them.  Their  lan- 
guage was  clear  and  distinct.  The  black  truncheon,  used 
&»  at  Slingers'  Bay,  or  a  fresh-gathered  leafy  bough,  was 


316  DISCOVERY  OF  CAPE  ST.  GEORGE. 

their  symbol  of  friendship.  These  they  placed  upon  their 
heads,  to  which  they  often  lifted  their  hands. 

Dampier  next  day  reached  Anthony  Kaan's  Island, 
which  in  its  external  features  and  social  condition  closely 
resembled  the  neighbouring  group.  It  lies  in  3°  25"  S.  As 
the  Roebuck  held  along  the  coast,  other  natives  approached, 
and  three  ventured  on  board,  to  whom  the  captain  gave  a 
knife,  a  looking-glass,  and  beads,  showing  them  pumpkins 
and  cocoanut-shells,  and  by  signs  requesting  them  to  bring 
similar  things  to  the  ship.  They  understood  this  language, 
and  out  of  one  of  the  canoes  took  three  cocoanuts,  which 
they  presented  to  him.  When  nutmegs  and  gold-dust  were 
shown  them,  they  appeared  to  intimate  that  such  things 
were  to  be  obtained  on  their  island.  The  natives  here, 
like  those  already  seen,  were  black,  tall,  strong,  and 
well  made,  with  crisp  hair,  and  their  nose  and  ears  were 
ornamented  in  the  same  fashion  as  those  seen  the  for- 
mer day. 

Dampier's  next  stage  was  St.  John's,  an  island  about 
ten  leagues  long,  abounding  in  plantations  and  cocoanut- 
trees,  with  groves  of  palms  by  the  shores  and  in  the  bays. 
All  these  islands  appeared  so  populous  that  the  navigator 
feared  to  send  a  party  on  shore  for  wood  or  water,  unless 
he  could  have  found  anchoring-ground  where  the  ship  might 
have  been  brought  up  to  protect  them ;  and  he  now  again 
stood  for  the  mainland  of  New-Guinea  to  supply  his  wants. 
On  the  8th  he  approached  the  coast  so  near  that  smokes 
were  seen,  with  the  land  high  and  woody,  and  thinly  inter- 
spersed with  savannas.  Canoes  came  off  to  the  ship,  in 
which  were  natives  exactly  resembling  those  they  had  last 
seen.  A  headland  lay  to  the  south  in  latitude  5°  5'  S., 
from  which  point  Dampier  concluded  that  the  shores  tended 
to  the  westward,  as  no  land  was  seen  beyond  it.  This 
headland  he  named  Cape  St.  George,  the  meridian  distance 
of  which  from  Cape  Mabo  is  1290  miles.  An  island  off 
this  cape  he  named  St.  George's  Island,  and  the  bay  be- 
tween it  and  the  west  point  St.  George's  Bay.  Great  quan- 
tities of  smoke  arose  in  sight,  and  next  day  a  volcano  was 
discovered  burning.  The  south-west  cape  of  the  bay  Dam- 
pier  named  Cape  Orford,  in  compliment  to  his  noble  patron. 
It  is  a  bluff  point,  of  medium  height,  and  flat  at  the  top. 
In  advancing  on  the  14th,  a  cluster  of  islands  were  seen  in 


NATIVES  OF  PORT  MONTAGUE.  317 

a  bay  in  which  Dampier  hoped  to  find  anchorage.  He  ran 
in  and  saw  smokes,  and  having  got  up  with  the  point  of  the 
bay,  houses,  plantations,  and  cocoanut-trees.  He  ap- 
proached within  a  few  miles  of  the  shore,  and  several  proas, 
with  about  forty  men,  came  out  to  view  the  ship,  but  would 
not  venture  on  board.  The  ship  now  lay  becalmed,  and  as 
other  proas  full  of  men  approached  from  different  points, 
one  of  them  of  very  large  size,  the  commander  became 
uneasy.  He  made  the  first  party  signs  to  return  to  the 
shore  ;  but  they  either  could  not  understand,  or  would  not 
obey,  and  he  "  whistled  a  shot  over  their  heads,"  which 
made  them  pull  away.  Two  boats,  which  had  started  from 
different  points,  intended,  it  was  apprehended,  to  effect  a 
junction,  and  attack  the  ship.  Of  these  one  was  a  large 
boat,  with  a  high  head  and  stern,  painted,  and  full  of  men. 
At  this  formidable  bark  Dampier  fired  another  shot,  which 
made  it  sheer  off,  though  it  afterward  pulled  but  the  more 
vigorously  to  join  the  other  advancing  boat.  To  prevent 
this  junction,  and  overawe  the  natives  in  their  suspected 
design,  the  gunner  was  directed  to  fire  a  shot  between  these 
boats  as  they  approached  each  other,  which  he  did  with  so 
true  an  aim,  using  round  and  partridge  shot,  that  they  in- 
stantly separated  and  made  for  the  shore  with  all  speed. 
The  Roebuck,  which  had  been  for  a  short  time  becalmed, 
bore  after  them  into  the  bay  with  a  gentle  favouring  breeze  ; 
and  when  it  reached  the  point  a  great  many  men  were  seen 
lurking  about  the  rocks  and  peeping  out.  Another  shot 
was  fired  against  the  point  as  a  necessary  measure  of  in- 
timidation. The  shot  grazed  between  the  ship  and  the 
point,  flew  over  it,  and  grazed  a  second  time  very  near  the 
nmbushed  party.  A  number  of  the  natives  were  still  seen 
sitting  under  the  cocoa-trees,  whom  Dampier,  who  knew 
the  people  here  to  be  inhospitable,  distrustful,  and  treach- 
erous (a  character  which  the  oceanic  negroes  had  obtained 
from  all  previous  navigators),  deemed  it  necessary  to  scare 
and  disperse  ;  and  a  third  gun  was  fired  among  the  wood, 
but  over  their  heads,  before  the  boat  was  sent  out  to  sound. 
The  Roebuck  followed  the  boat,  and  found  good  anchorage 
at  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  opposite  the 
mouth  of  a  small  river,  where  they  hoped  to  find  water,  the 
true  and  only  object  of  all  this  seeming  harshness.  A 
group  stationed  on  a  small  point  at  the  river's  mouth  was 
Dd 


318  THEIR  AVERSION  TO  STRANGERS. 

scattered  by  the  former  means,  though  this  shot,  and  all 
that  were  fired,  were  aimed  aside  and  harmless.  The 
seamen  then  rowed  for  the  shore,  and  before  they  landed, 
the  Indians  rushed  into  the  water,  and  placed  cocoanuts  in 
their  boat  as  a  present  or  propitiatory  offering. 

Water  was  obtained, — one  boat's  crew  keeping  watch 
while  the  other  filled  the  casks, — and  an  attempt  was  made 
to  commence  a  trade  by  exchanging  axes  and  hatchets  for 
yams,  potatoes,  and  other  articles.  The  natives  were  not 
insensible  to  the  value  of  the  goods  offered  in  exchange  ; 
but  they  would  part  with  nothing  save  cocoanuts,  which 
they  climbed  the  trees  to  gather,  and  gave  to  the  seamen, 
at  the  same  time  making  signs  to  them  to  be  gone. 

Having  obtained  a  tolerable  quantity  of  both  wood  and 
water,  Dampier  held  a  consultation  with  his  officers  on  the 
propriety  of  putting  to  sea,  or  of  remaining  here  some 
time  longer,  to  fish,  and  endeavour  to  obtain  hogs,  goats, 
yams,  and  whatever  refreshments  the  place  afforded.  It 
was  agreed  to  remain.  While  the  men  were  employed  in 
cutting  wood,  a  party  of  about  forty  natives,  men  and 
women,  passed  near  them.  They  at  first  appeared  fright- 
ened ;  but  were  somewhat  reassured  by  the  signs  of  friend- 
ship made  by  the  sailors,  and  passed  quietly  on.  The  men 
were  finely  bedecked  with  feathers  of  gay  colours  stuck  in 
their  hair,  and  carried  lances ;  while  the  women  trudged 
behind  totally  naked,  save  for  a  few  green  boughs  stuck 
into  the  string  tied  round  their  waists.  On  their  heads 
they  carried  large  baskets  full  of  yams.  "  And  this.,"  says 
Dampier,  "  I  have  observed  of  all  savages  I  have  known, 
that  they  make  their  women  carry  the  burdens,  while  the 
men  walk  before  without  any  other  load  than  their  arms 
and  ornaments." 

When  the  boats  went  next  ashore,  some  of  the  seamen 
entered  the  dwellings  of  the  natives,  who,  instead  of  be- 
coming more  familiar  on  further  acquaintance,  got  more  and 
more  shy  and  distrustful.  They  had  now  gathered  all  the 
cocoas,  and  driven  away  their  hogs  to  a  place  in  the  bottom 
of  the  bay.  Dampier  landed  himself,  carrying  with  him 
articles  proper  for  presents  and  trade  ;  but  he  was  unable 
to  inspire  the  natives  with  any  degree  of  confidence.  Few 
of  them  approached  him,  and  those  with  reluctance  ;  and 
a  promise  which  an  Indian  made  of  bringing  cocoanuts  was 


AFFRAY  WITH  THE  INDIANS.       319 

probably  never  intended  to  be  kept.  He  visited  three  dif- 
ferent villages,  and  uniformly  found  the  huts  abandoned, 
and  the  furniture  and  live-stock  carried  off.  When  Cap- 
tain Dampier  returned  to  the  ship  he  found  all  the  officers 
and  men  most  importunate  to  obtain  his  permission  to 
visit  the  place  whither  the  hogs  had  been  driven.  They 
extorted  a  reluctant  consent,  and  departed  furnished  with 
commodities  for  traffic,  strictly  enjoined  to  deal  fairly  with 
the  natives,  and  for  their  own  security  to  act  with  caution. 
The  bay  was  two  miles  distant,  and  Dampier,  who  had 
great  misgivings  of  the  consequences  of  the  enterprise, 
prepared,  in  case  of  the  worst,  to  assist  them  with  the  ship's 
guns,  as  the  natives  were  now  seen  assembling  on  the 
shore  in  large  groups,  prepared  to  resist  the  landing,  shak- 
ing their  lances,  and  using  threatening  gestures.  The  Eng- 
lish displayed  their  tempting  wares,  and  made  signs  which 
were  disregarded  by  the  natives,  some  of  whom  plunged 
into  the  sea  with  their  lances  and  targets  to  commence  the 
attack.  But  the  seamen  were  resolved  in  every  event  to 
obtain  provisions ;  and  since  fair  means  were  repulsed, 
they  made  no  scruple  at  using  violence  and  severity. 
The  first  fire  of  the  muskets  made  the  greater  part  of  the 
warriors  run  off,  though  a  few  stood  with  great  resolution, 
still  in  the  attitude  of  repelling  the  landing.  The  boldest 
at  last  dropped  his  target :  it  was  conjectured  that  he  was 
hit  in  the  arm,  and  the  whole  took  to  flight.  Dampier 
acknowledges  that  "  some  felt  the  smart  of  our  bullets,  but 
none  were  killed  ;  our  design  being  rather  to  fright  than 
to  kill  them."  The  seamen  shot  nine  hogs,  besides  wound- 
ing many  that  escaped,  and  in  the  evening  made  a  second 
trip  and  brought  off  eight  more.  As  a  sort  of  compensa- 
tion for  the  injury  done,  Dampier  sent  a  captured  canoe 
back  to  the  shore,  and  deposited  in  it  two  axes,  two 
hatchets,  six  knives,  six  looking-glasses,  four  bottles,  and  a 
quantity  of  beads. 

This  bay,  in  6°  10'  S.,  and  151  miles  west  of  Cape  St. 
George,  Dampier  named  Port  Montague,  in  honour  of  the 
President  of  the  Royal  Society.  Of  the  appearance  and 
nature  of  the  country  here  he  makes  a  very  favourable 
report.  "  It  is  mountainous  and  woody,  with  rich  valleys 
and  pleasant  fresh-water  brooks."  The  rivers  abounded 
in  fish ;  cocoanut-trees  sprung  and  throve  on  every  island, 


320  VOLCANIC    ISLAND. 

and  many  fruits  of  unknown  kinds  were  seen.  Ginger 
was  among  the  spontaneous  productions. 

The  Roebuck  was  now  well  supplied  with  wood  and 
water,  and  t!  ..1  been  salted  as  soon  as  brought 

on  board.  On  the  22d  March  they  left  Poit  Montague, 
and  on  the  24th,  in  the  evening,  saw  hijrh  land  bearing 
north-west  "half-west,  and  no  land  visible  more  to  the 
west/'  They  steered  west-north-west,  coasting  along 
under  easy  sail,  and  at  two  o'clock  saw  a  pillar  of  fire. 
At  daylight  this  was  discovered  to  be  a  burning  island,  for 
which  they  bore,  seeing  many  other  islands,  two  of  them 
pretty  high.  They  passed  through  a  channel  about  rive 
leagues  broad,  lying  between  the  Burning  Island  and  the 
mainland.  All  the  night  of  the  25th,  being  still  in  this 
strait,  they  saw  the  volcano,  "  which,"  Dampier  relates, 
**  vomited  fire  and  smoke  very  amazingly." 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  the  Roebuck  had  shot  to  the 
westward  of  the  Burning  Island,  whence  the  fire  could  no 
longer  be  seen,  the  crater  lying  on  its  south  side.  This 
volcano  lies  at  meridian  distance  332  miles  west  from  Cape 
St.  George.  And  now  Dampier  had  attained  an  important 
stage  in  his  voyage  of  discovery.  "  The  easternmost  part," 
he  says,  "  of  New-Guinea  lies  forty  miles  to  the  westward 
of  this  tract  of  land,  and  by  hydrographers  they  are  made 
joining  together."  This  he  found  to  be  a  mistake,  and 
discovered  that  it  was  a  channel  he  had  passed  through 
here,  in  which  were  many  islands.  Before  entering  this 
strait,  he  named  the  promontory  on  the  north-east  of  this 
coast,  part  of  what  was  then  all  named  New-Guinea,  King 
William's  Cape.  It  is  high  and  mountainous.  Smokes 
were  seen  upon  it.  Leaving  it  upon  the  larboard-side,  the 
Roebuck  bore  away  close  upon  the  east  land,  which  ends 
with  two  remarkable  capes,  distant  from  each  other  about 
«ix  leagues,  with  two  fine  and  very  high  mountains  rising 
from  the  sea  within  these  headlands.  The  country  ap- 
peared finely  mingled  with  woodland  and  savanna,  as 
smooth  and  verdant  as  an  English  meadow.  Smokes  were 
again  seen  ;  but  Dampier,  who  wished  to  repair  his  pin- 
nace, which  was  so  crazy  as  to  be  unserviceable,  chose 
rather  to  anchor  near  an  uninhabited  than  a  peopled 
island,  as  he  wished  to  avoid  the  natives.  He  stood  over 
to  the  islands,  and  kept  a  lookout  for  land  to  the  north,  but 


DISCOVERY  OF  SEVERAL  ISLANDS.     321 

caw  none.  The  navigator  was  now  assured  that  he  had 
passed  through  a  strait,  and  that  this  eastern  land  did  not 
join  the  mainland  of  New-Guinea.  He  named  this  island, 
which  he  had  now  nearly  circumnavigated,  Nova  Britan- 
nia, the  north-west  point  of  the  strait  Cape  Gloucester,  and 
the  south-west  Cape  Anne.  The  mountain  most  to  the 
north-west  of  the  two  which  rose  between  those  headlands, 
being  very  remarkable  in  appearance,  the  discoverer  chose 
to  give  it  also  a  name,  and  called  it  Mount  Gloucester. 

The  passage  thus  discovered  is  now  known  in  geogra- 
phy as  Dampier's  Strait.  The  Island  of  Nova  Britannia, 
in  productions  and  inhabitants,  resembled  New-Guinea. 
The  people  were  negroes,  strong-limbed,  bold,  and  daring. 
They  had  been  closely  observed  at  Port  Montague,  and 
the  remarks  made  on  them  there  applied  with  equal  pro- 
priety to  the  few  that  were  afterward  seen. 

Advancing  in  his  course,  Dampier  fell  in  with  several 
islands.  One,  eleven  leagues  in  length,  he  named  Sir 
George  Rook's  Island.  On  the  31st  he  shot  in  between 
two  islands, — the  southernmost  long,  with  a  hill  at  each 
end.  This  he  named  Long  Island.  The  one  to  the 
north  was  named  Crown  Island,  from  its  eminences. 
Both  were  pleasant,  and  seemed  fertile, — savanna  and 
woodland  interspersed,  the  trees  green  and  flourishing,  and 
many  of  them  covered  with  white  blossoms.  Cocoanut- 
trees  were  frequent  in  the  bays  of  that  island  which  from 
its  conformation  Dampier  named  Crown  Island.  It  was 
believed  to  be  inhabited  but  thinly.  A  boat  was  seen, 
which  just  peeped  forth  from  the  shore  of  this  island,  and 
drew  back ;  but  neither  plantations  nor  smokes  were  dis- 
covered. In  the  afternoon  of  the  31jst  another  island  was 
seen  bearing  north-west  by  west ;  and  next  morning,  the 
ship,  having  steered  away  north-west  to  get  to  the  north- 
ward of  it,  lay  about  midway  between  it  and  Crown  and 
Long  Islands.  The  mainland  of  New-Guinea,  lying  to 
the  southward,  was  seen  rising  very  high.  From  this  new 
island,  which  the  navigator  named  Sir  R.  Rich's  Island, 
four  canoes  came  off,  which  from  a  distance  reconnoitred 
the  ship.  One  advanced  within  call,  but  when  invited  the 
men  would  not  approach  closer.  The  Roebuck  bore  on- 
ward, and  discovered  four  more  islands,  and  land  to  the 
southward,  which  might  either  be  another  island  or  part  of 


322  RETURN    TO    NEW-HOLLAND. 

the  mainland  of  New-Guinea.  These  islands  were  gen&- 
rally  high,  full  of  trees,  mixed  with  clear  spots ;  all,  even 
the  Burning  Island,  were  fertile.  On  the  2d  April  they 
passed  by  its  north  side,  and  saw  that  the  land  near  the  sea 
was  rich,  and  good  for  two-thirds  of  the  height  of  the 
mountains.  Among  this  group  of  islands  three  small  ves- 
sels with  sails  were  seen,  though  the  inhabitants  of  Nova 
Britannia  appeared  quite  unacquainted  with  the  use  of 
sails.  Another  island  was  descried  that  sent  forth  smoke, 
which  however  soon  dispersed.  This  is  presumed  to  have 
been  the  Brandende  Berg  of  Schouten.  Different  observa- 
tions made  at  this  time  showed  a  variation  in  the  ship's 
reckoning,  for  which  the  navigator  was  at  a  loss  to  account. 
On  the  14th  April  they  passed  Schouten's  Island,  and  on 
the  17th  observed  a  volcano  on  the  mainland,  which  had 
either  not  been  smoking  or  had  passed  unnoticed  when 
they  sailed  round  King  William's  Island.  This  island, 
discovered  in  passing  round  about  two  months  before,  was 
seen  in  the  same  afternoon,  and  they  crowded  sail  to  reach 
it  before  dark.  But  the  wind  fell,  and  they  were  becalmed 
within  two  milos  of  the  shore.  The  night  was  one  of 
bright  moonlight,  and  a  delightful  fragrance  was  wafted 
from  the  island  to  the  ship.  Next  morning  they  were 
becalmed  two  leagues  to  the  westward  of  the  island,  and 
met  such  whirling  tides  that  the  ship  refused  to  obey  the 
helm,  and  frequently  turned  round  in  the  whirlpools.  A 
gale  fortunately  sprung  up  and  carried  her  off. 

The  voyage  was  prosecuted  to  the  Island  of  Ceram, 
which  they  reached  on  the  26th  April.  Here  they  obtained 
a  supply  of  rice  from  a  Dutch  vessel,  and  next  went  to 
Timor,  from  whence  Dampier  intended  once  more  to 
attempt  New-Holland  in  about  20°.  Here  he  found 
soundings  at  40  fathoms,  but  did  not  see  the  land,  and 
steered  westward  to  search  for  the  Trial  Rocks,*  which 
were  supposed  to  lie  in  this  parallel,  and  about  eighty 
leagues  westward  of  the  coast.  But  Captain  Dampier  wa» 
sick  and  unable  to  maintain  perpetual  watch  himself,  and 
the  officers  inefficient  and  careless,  so  that  this  important 
point  was  not  ascertained ;  nor  could  more  be  attempted 

*  So  named  from  an  English  ship  called  the  Trial  having  be«$ 
Wrecked  upon  tnem  many  years  before  Dampier's  voyage. 


SHIPWRECK   AT   ASCENSION.  323 

at  this  time  for  purposes  of  discovery,  many  of  the  crew 
being  affected  with  scurvy,  and  the  ship  hardly  sea-worthy. 
The  Roebuck  accordingly  sailed  for  Java,  and  on  the  3cf 
July  anchored  in  the  road  of  Batavia,  where  Dampier  sup- 
ported the  dignity  of  his  mission  by  making  the  only  Eng- 
lish vessel  found  in  the  harbour  strike  her  pendant.  On 
the  17th  October  they  sailed  for  Europe,  and  without  any 
remarkable  adventure,  having  touched  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  and  St  Helena,  approached  the  Island  of  Ascension 
on  the  21st  February,  and  stood  in  for  it,  now  reckoning 
themselves  almost  at  home.  On  the  evening  of  the  22d 
the  ship,  old  and  damaged  before  the  voyage  had  com* 
menced,  sprung  a  leak,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the 
pumps  kept  her  afloat  till  daylight,  when  they  made  for 
the  bay  and  came  to  anchor.  Every  exertion  was  made  to 
stop  the  leak  and  save  the  ship,  while  the  pumps  were  kept 
at  hard  work.  The  carpenters  showed  great  want  of  judg- 
ment, if  not  want  of  skill  in  their  business,  and  in  spite  of 
all  the  ingenious  contrivances  resorted  to  by  Dampier, 
their  improvidence  and  the  damaged  condition  of  the  ship 
rendered  every  effort  abortive.  Dampier  remained  on  board 
till  the  very  last.  He  had  to  regret  the  loss  of  many  of  his 
books  and  papers,  and  a  collection  of  shells  gathered  at 
New-Holland.  The  plants  he  contrived  to  save.  The 
condition  of  the  party  was  more  fortunate  than  that  which 
generally  falls  to  the  lot  of  shipwrecked  seamen.  They 
were  most  happy  to  discover  a  spring  of  good  water,  though 
eight  miles  distant  from  their  tents,  and  across  a  very  high 
mountain,  and  Dampier  thankfully  relates,  that  "  they 
were  now  by  God's  providence  in  a  condition  to  subsist  for 
some  time,  having  plenty  of  good  turtle  by  their  tents,  and 
water  for  the  fetching."  Here  Dampier  and  his  company 
remained  for  about  five  weeks.  During  that  time  they  had 
seen  several  ships  and  fleets  pass ;  but  none  touched  till 
the  2d  April,  when  an  Indiaman  and  three  English  ships 
of  war  came  into  the  bay.  Dampier  went  on  board  one  of 
them  with  thirty-five  of  his  men,  and  the  rest  of  the  crew 
were  accommodated  in  the  otheT  vessels. 

Though  the  purpose  of  his  voyage  had  been  accom- 
plished, and  though  many  important  additions  were  made 
by  it  to  geography,  the  loss  of  the  ship  and  of  his  papers 
depressed  the  spirits  of  tho  navigator,  and  but  too  probably 


324     DAMPIER'S  REFLECTIONS  ON  FORTUNE. 

lessened  his  merit  with  those  fortunate  persons  in  hi<jh 
places  who  rarely  judge  of  any  undertaking  save  by  it* 
apparent  success.  He  was  now  to  suffer  for  the  ignorance 
or  mistaken  economy  of  those  who,  projecting  a  voyage  of 
discovery  distant  and  perilous,  imagined  that  it  might  be 
accomplished  by  a  useless  crazy  ship,  unfit  for  what  was 
considered  better  service.  The  marvel  was  that  it  had  not 
foundered  long  before. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  neither  rewards  nor  even  soothing 
promises  awaited  the  return  of  Dampier  from  his  public 
enterprise.  His  original  patron,  or  at  least  the  person  who 
officially  gave  him  his  appointment  to  the  Roebuck,  no 
longer  presided  at  the  admiralty.  To  this  nobleman,  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  he,  however,  inscribed  his  relation  of  the 
VOYAGE  TO  NEW-HOLLAND. 

About  his  own  private  affairs,  and  his  personal  feelings, 
Dampier  is  at  all  times  modest  and  reserved,  and  we  can 
only  surmise  his  disappointment  from  an  incidental  remark 
into  which  he  is  betrayed  in  the  dedication  of  his  history 
of  that  voyage,  which  ought  to  have  been  regarded  from 
the  first  as  useful  to  science  and  honourable  to  the  navi- 
gator. "  The  world,"  he  says,  "  is  apt  to  judge  of  every 
thing  by  success,  insomuch  that  whoever  has  ill-fortune 
will  hardly  be  allowed  a  good  name."  "  Such,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  was  my  unhappiness  in  my  late  expedition  in  the 
Roebuck,  which  foundered  through  perfect  age,  though  I 
comfort  myself  with  the  thoughts  that  no  neglect  can  be 
charged  against  me."  Justly,  no  neglect  coukl  be  charged 
against  him.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  entitled  by  his  con- 
duct of.  this  voyage,  independently  of  his  other  merits,  to 
future  employment ;  but  we  hear  no  more  of  Captain 
Dampier  in  the  public  service.  His  voyage  in  the  Roebuck 
is  the  last  of  his  published  writings,  and  the  history  of  the 
remainder  of  his  eventful  life,  which  we  gather  from  others, 
as  it  is  painful,  may  be  brief. 

Captain  Dampier  had  not  been  long  at  home  when  the 
death  of  King  William  III.  took  place,  and  was  followed 
by  the  war  of  the  Succession.  Among  the  private  enter- 
prises attending  this  war  with  France  and  Spain  v. 
tensive  privateering ;  and  he  obtained  the  command  of  the 
St.  George  and  Cinque  Ports,  two  vessels  equipped  by  a 
company  of  English  merchants,  and  intended  to  cruise 


PRIVATEERING    VOYAGE.  325 

against  the  Spaniards  in  the  South  Seas.  The  St.  George 
left  the  Downs  in  April,  1703,  with  Captain  Dampier*  on 
board  ;  but  it  was  September  before  both  vessels  left  Kin- 
sale.  The  basis  of  the  expedition  was  the  old  Bucanier 
maxim,  no  prey,  no  pay,~a  principle  ill-adapted  to  the 
maintenance  of  discipline  or  order  in  a  ship.  In  this 
voyage  Dampier  had  in  view  three  special  objects,— 
namely,  the  capture  of  the  Spanish  galleons  that  sailed 
from  Buenos  Ayres  ;  and,  failing  that,  to  pass  the  Straits 
of  Magellan,  or  double  Cape  Horn,  and  lie  in  wait  for  the 
ship  that  carried  gold  from  Baldivia  to  Lima  ;  or,  finally, 
the  oft-attempted  exploit  of  the  seizure  of  the  Manilla 
galleon.  The  St.  George  carried  twenty-six  guns,  and  a 
crew  of  120. 

The  character  of  Dampier  has  been  subjected  to  many 
rash  and  unfounded  imputations  drawn  from  histories  of 
this  voyage  published  without  his  sanction.     The  principal 
one,  written  by  Funnel,  who,   till  he  deserted,  sailed  as 
Dampier's  steward,  is  full  of  evident  misstatements  regard- 
ing the  navigation,  as  well  as  the  private  transactions  in  the 
ship.     So  far  as  these  misrepresentations  regarded  geo- 
graphical and  nautical  facts  Dampier  afterward  corrected 
them,  though  he  took  little  notice  of  the  allegations  against 
himself,  further  than  in  one  or  two  instances  to  point  out 
their  glaring  falsehood.     Before  the  voyage  was  well  begun 
quarrels  broke  out  among  these  irresponsible  officers,  and 
some  of  them  quitted  the  ship,  while  the  commander,  without 
being  invested  with  salutary  power  to  restrain  them,  was  left 
to  bear  the  blame  of  the  misconduct  of  the  whole  company. 
The  ships  doubled  Cape  Horn,  and  reached  Juan  Fer- 
nandez without  any  remarkable  adventure.     While  lying 
here  a  strange  sail  was  seen,  to  which  both  ships  gave 
chase.     She  proved  to  be  a  French  ship  cruisino-  in  these 
seas,  and  so  strongly  did  the  old  Bucanier  associations  in- 
fluence Dampier,  that  he  acknowledged  it  was  with  reluc- 
tance he  attacked  a  European  vessel  of  whatever  nation. 
e,  however  engaged,  and  after  a  fight  of  seven  hours,  in 
which  both  ships  suffered  considerably,  they  parted. 

*  In  the  Gazette  for  18th  April,  1703,  it  is  stated  that  Captain  Dam- 
pier,  presented  by  his  royal  highness  the  lord  high  admiral,  had  the 

' 


Ee 


326    CL1PPERTON CRUISE  OF  THE  ST.  GEORGE. 

Before  the  proper  latitude  was  reached,  the  Baldivia 
treasure-ships  had  sailed.  Though  Dampierwas  the  nom- 
inal commander,  Stradling,  in  the  Cinque  Ports,  acted 
independently  ;  and  as  they  differed  about  their  future 
operations]  the  ships  parted  company.  A  design  to  sur- 
prise Santa  Maria  in  the  Bay  of  Panama  failed  ;  and  though 
Dampier  captured  a  few  small  vessels,  he  obtained  no  prize 
of  any  value. 

While  lying  in  the  Gulf  of  Nicoya,  the  commander  and 
his  chief  mate,  John  Clipperton,  quarrelled,  and  the  latter, 
with  twenty-one  of  the  crew,  seized  the  tender,  in  which 
were  most  of  the  ammunition  and  stores,  and  put  out  to 
sea.  It  is  alleged  that  Clipperton  at  this  time  stole  his 
commander's  commission.  No  captain  ever  sailed  with 
a  worse-disposed  and  more  turbulent  set  of  men  and  offi- 
cers than  those  whom  Dampier  now  commnnded.  They  had 
all  the  bad  qualities  of  Bucaiiiers,  without  their  bravery, 
experience}  and  hardihood. 

The  St.  George  bore  northward,  and  on  the  6th  Decem- 
ber, while   only  a  short  way  beyond  Port  de  Navidad,  de- 
scried a  sail,  which    proved  to  be   the   Manilla  galleon. 
The  Manilla  ship  had  no  suspicion  of  any  enemy  being  on 
this  coast,  and  she  received  several  broadsides  from  the  St. 
George  before  being  cleared  for  action.     Even  taken  thus 
at  disadvantage,  when  her  guns,  which  were  of  far  heavier 
metal,  were  brought  into  play,  they  at  once  drove  in  the 
rotten  planks  of  the  St.  George,  and  obliged  Dampier  to 
fcheer  off.     The  galleon  also  held  on.     It  is  presumed  that 
the  number  of  her  men  quadrupled  those  of  the  English 
ship,  and  her  guns  were  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pounders, 
while  those  of  the   St.  George  were  only  five-pounders. 
This  proved  a  bitter  disappointment,  and  the  men  became 
more  and  more  impatient  to  end  so  profitless  and  fatiguing 
a  voyage.     In  hopes  of  better  fortune,  they  were,  however, 
induced  to  continue  the  cruise  for  a  few  weeks  longer  on 
the  coast  of  New  Spain  ;  but  this  produced  nothing,  and  it 
was  agreed  to  part  company.     One  party,  instigated  by 
Funnel,  the  mendacious  historian  of  the  voyage,  resolved  to 
sail  for  India,  and  by  this  route  return  home.     A  brigantine 
of  seventy  tons  which  had  been  captured  was  given  up  to 
him,  and  the  thirty-four  men  who  chose  to  follow  his  coun- 
sels ;  and  the  stores,  small  arms,  and  ammunition  were 


CAPTAIN  DAMPIER'S  "  VINDICATION."        327 

divided,  four  of  the  St.  George's  guns  being  also  given  to 
this  party.  Dampier's  crew  was  thus  left  reduced  to 
twenty-nine.  After  refitting  his  crazy  disabled  ship  he  re- 
turned to  the  coast  of  Peru.  They  plundered  the  town  of 
Tuna,  and  cruised  along  till  their  ship  was  no  longer  fit  to 
keep  the  sea,  when  they  abandoned  her  riding  at  anchor 
at  Lobos  de  la  Mar,  and  embarking  in  a  brigantine  which 
they  had  captured  from  the  Spaniards,  crossed  the  Pacific. 
Of  this  voyage,  and  of  the  subsequent  misfortunes  of  Dam- 
pier  m  India,  there  remain  no  certain  or  distinct  accounts. 
U  is  however  known,  that,  not  having  a  commission  to 
show,  he  was  thrown  into  prison  by  the  Dutch.  Before 
he  obtained  his  freedom  and  got  back  to  England,  Funnel, 
his  unworthy  subaltern,  had  returned  ;  and  a  London  book- 
seller, named  Knapton,  the  publisher  of  Dampier's  former 
voyages,  had  been  induced  by  their  popularity  to  print  this 
person's  narrative  of  the  voyage  of  the  St.  George,  under 
the  false  title  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the  works  of  the  cele- 
brated navigator.  Dampier,  on  coming  home,  published  a 
lew  pages  of  explanation,  entitled  "  Captain  Dampier's 
Vindication  of  his  Voyage  in  the  Ship  St.  George,  with 
some^small  Observations  on  Mr.  Funnel's  chimerical  Rela- 
tion." Funnel's  account,  as  no  other  was  ever  published, 
however,  keeps  its  place  as  the  history  of  this  voyage  ; 
though  its  palpable  misrepresentations,  'and  the  bad  and 
malevolent  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  have  drawn  upon 
the  writer  the  reprobation  of  every  lover  of  justice  and  im- 
partial inquirer  after  truth. 

The  fortunes  of  Dampier  must  have  been  at  a  very  low 
b  when  he  returned  to  England  after  this  disastrous 
voyage  ;  and  it  is  with  pain  we  find  this  veteran  navigator, 
as  much  distinguished  by  superiority  of  understanding  as 
by  nautical  skill  and  experience,  obliged,  in  1708,  to  act  as 
a  pilot  under  younger  and  very  inferior  commnnders.  This, 
which  was  Dampier's  last  voyage,  again  proved  to  be  one 
round  the  world,  and  was  undertaken  in  the  Duke  and 
Duchess,  two  privateers  fitted  out  by  several  Bristol  mer- 
chants. 

Copious  narratives  of  this  voyage  are  written  by  the 
commanders,  Woodes  Rogers  and  Cook,  but  it  is  only  in- 
ntally  that  we  learn  any  thing  from  them  of  their  dis- 
tinguished pilot. 


328  VOYAGE    OF    WOODES    ROGERS. 

At  Junn  Fernandez,  Woodes  Rogers,  on  this  voyage, 
brought  off  the  celebrated  Alexander  Selkirk,  who  had  been 
left  or  rather  abandoned  here  by  Dampier's  violent  and 
tyrannical  con.sort,  Captain  Si  nulling,  four  years  previously. 
On  the  recommend  at  ion  of  Dampier,  Selkirk  was  made 
second  mate  of  the  Duke. 

The  cruise  of  the  privateers  was  successful.  At  Guaya- 
quil, where  Dampier  commanded  the  artillery,  they  obtained 
plunder  to  the  value  of  12,000/.  and  27,000  dollars  as  ran- 
som of  the  town.  They  afterward,  off  Cape  Lucas,  cap- 
tured a  Manilla  ship  richly  laden  with  merchandise,  and 
12,000/.  in  gold  and  silver.  They  brought  their  prize  into 
Puerto  Segura,  and  prepared  to  look  for  the  richer  and 
larger  Manilla  galleon  ;  which  they  encountered,  but,  after 
a  protracted  and  severe  engagement,  were  beaten  off.  In 
this  fight  the  Duchess  alone  lost  twenty-five  men.  The 
natives  of  Puerto  Segura  were  blacker  than  any  other  peo- 
ple  seen  in  the  South  Sea  by  Woodes  Rogers.  They  were 
of  a  disagreeable  aspect ;  their  language  harsh  and  guttural. 
'  They  carried  bows  six  feet  long,  strung  with  the  silk-grass. 
Their  arrows  were  of  cane,  tipped  with  flint  or  bone. 

The  privateers  now  turned  their  thoughts  homeward, 
and  keeping  the  usual  track  of  the  galleons,  reached  Guahan 
on  the  10th  March,  after  a  run  of  exactly  two  months,  and 
anchored  under  Spanish  colours.  Apart  from  this  venial 
deception,  employed  to  facilitate  the  purchase  of  supplies, 
the  conduct  of  the  English  privateers  was  unexceptionable. 
They  rested  for  ten  days,  and  made  the  north  of  Gilolo  in 
about  a  month  afterward.  At  Bouton  they  stopped  to 
take  in  provisions  and  water,  and  next  sailed  for  Batavia, 
where  they  experienced  those  noxious  effects  of  climate 
from  which  hardly  any  ship's  company  escapes  at  that  most 
unhealthy  station. 

They  sailed  from  Batavia  in  the  end  of  October,  waited 
long  at  the  Cape  for  a  homeward-bound  fleet,  and  coming 
round  the  north  of  Scotland,  five-and-twenty  sail,  Dutch 
and  English,  anchored  in  the  Texel  in  July  of  the  following 
year,  and  in  October,  1711,  came  to  the  Thames  with  booty 
in  money  and  merchandise  valued  at  150,000/.*  From 
this  date  we  hear  no  more  of  Captain  Dampier,  whose 

*  From  an  incidental  source  we  learn  that  this  prize-money  was  not 
divided  up  to  1719,  so  thru  it  is  probable  that  even  from  this  tardy  piece 
of  good  fortune  Captain  Dnnipior  obtained  no  advantage. 


TESTIMONY  OF  FOREIGNERS.       329 

name  appears  less  frequently  in  the  narrative  of  Rogers 
than,  from  the  eminent  nautical  abilities  of  the  man  who 
bore  it,  it  ought  to  have  done.  In  difficulties  he  was,  it 
appears,  constantly  applied  to,  and  his  former  knowledge 
and  experience  taken  as  guides.  At  Bouton,  where  he 
had  been  in  the  Cygnet,  he"  was  intrusted  to  carry  the 
present  to  the  sultan ;  and,  from  respect  to  his  judg- 
ment and  integrity,  he  was  also  chosen  umpire  in  the  very 
delicate  affair  of  deciding  what  was  plunder  for  immediate 
division,  and  in  allotting  the  respective  shares. 

Dampier  was  of  the  number  of  those  men  distinguished 
above  their  fellows,  "  who  are  not  without  honour  save  in 
their  own  country  ;"  or  if  at  home  his  merits  were  appre- 
ciated, wanting  the  most  worthless  quality  of  success,  the 
glare  and  show,  they  failed  of  their  reward.  By  French 
and  Dutch  navigators  and  men  of  science  he  has  been  uni- 
formly regarded  with  the  warmest  admiration,  as  a  man  to 
whose  professional  eminence  his  own  country  has  scarce 
done  justice.  They  delight  to  style  him  the  "  eminent," 
the  "  skilful,"  the  "  exact,"  the  "  incomparable  Dampier." 
Humboldt  has  borne  testimony  to  his  merits,  placing  the 
Bucanier  seaman  above  those  men  of  science  who  after- 
ward went  over  the  same  ground  ;  Malte  Brun  terms  him 
"  the  learned  Dampier  ;"  and  the  author  of  the  voyages  to 
Australia  inquires,  "  Mais  ou  trouve-t-on  des  Navigateurs 
comparables  a  Dampier  ?"  The  acuteness,  accuracy,  and 
clearness  of  his  nautical  observations,  and  of  his  descrip- 
tions and  general  remarks,  have  made  his  voyages  be 
assumed  by  foreign  navigators  as  unerring  guides  and  au- 
thorities in  all  subsequent  expeditions  ;  and  his  rapidity 
and  power  of  observation  are  fully  as  remarkable  as  his 
accuracy.  His  hasty  glance  at  the  places  of  New-Holland 
where  he  touched  has  left  subsequent  voyagers  little  to  do 
save  to  verify  his  descriptions.  Dampier's  veracity  has  in 
no  instance  been  questioned,  even  by  those  the  most  dis- 
posed to  cavil  at  facts  which,  being  remote  from  their 
limited  experience,  appear  extraordinary  or  impossible. 
Other  writers,  combining  into  one  the  relations  of  many 
different  travellers,  have  amplified  his  descriptions  ;  but 
there  is  no  detached  account  of  the  countries  he  visited 
more  full  of  vital  interest  and  exact  information  than  the 
voyages  of  this  wandering  seaman. 
Ee2 


330       OPINIONS    OF    PINKERTON    AND    BURNEY. 

The  succession  of  brilliant  discoveries  which  illustrated 
the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  for  a  time  threw 
the  adventures  of  Dampier,  and  of  every  previous  navigator, 
into  the  shade,  but  they  are  again  emerging  into  popularity. 
Compared  with  the  voyages  of  recent  navigators,  his  long 
solitary  rambles  are  as  the  emprises  of  the  single  knightly 
combatant,  bearing  no  proportion  to  the  magnitude  and 
splendour  of  regular  battle-field,  but,  from  their  individu- 
ality, often  commanding  a  more  intense  and  powerful,  be- 
cause a  more  concentrated,  interest. 

The  cloud  which  rested  on  the  personal  character  of 
Dampier  from  the  ignorance  or  misrepresentations  of  en- 
vious contemporaries,  and  the  carelessness  and  haste  with 
which  writers  for  the  press  copy  from  each  other  and  adopt 
current  statements,  is  fast  clearing  away.  By  Pinkerton 
he  is  termed  "  the  Cook  of  a  former  age  ;"  and  Burney  has 
taken  a  generous  pleasure  in  doing  justice  to  his  profes- 
sional merits,  and  shown  a  more  generous  indignation  in 
rebuking  the  thoughtless  repetition  of  unfounded  calumnies. 
"  It  is,"  he  says,  "  matter  of  regret,  and  not  less  of  dis- 
satisfaction, to  see  that  some  late  writers  have  been  so  little 
conscious  of  the  merits  of  Dampier,  as  to  allow  themselves 
to  speak  of  him  with  small  respect,  for  no  other  cause  than 
that  it  appears  he  had  disagreements  with  some  of  his 
shipmates,  the  particular  circumstances  of  which  are  not 
known,  further  than  that  he  had  to  deal  with  a  quarrelsome 
and  mutinous  crew.  Such  petty  considerations  should 
never  have  been  lifted  up  against  the  memory  of  such  a 
man  as  Dampier."  "  It  is  not  easy  to  name  another  voy- 
ager or  traveller  who  has  given  more  useful  information  to 
the  world,  or  to  whom  the  merchant  and  the  mariner  are 
more  indebted."*  To  these  Burney  might  have  added  the 
philosopher  and  the  naturalist,  who  have  rarely  been  so 
much  indebted  to  any  adventurer  whose  pursuits  were  so 
entirely  remote  from  their  subjects  of  speculation.  This 

*  Barney's  History  of  Discovery  in  the  South  Sea. — The  compara- 
tively recent  "Survey  of  the  Coasts  of  Australia,''  by  Captain  P.  P. 
King,  also  does  Dampier  great  justice,  and  connects  his  name  with  the 
geography  of  the  north-west  coast  of  New-Holland  in  a  manner  that 
must  gratify  every  admirer  of  professional  eminence.  Captain  King 
has  not  merely  adopted  the  distinctions  conferred  on  his  celebrated  pre- 
decessor by  the  commanders  of  the  French  expeditions,  but  extended 
their  meaning,  and  added  to  their  number. 


GENIUS    OF   DAMPIER.  331 

honourable  testimony  will  remain  to  the  credit  of  the 
writer,  when  the  vague  statements  and  unsifted  calumnies 
which  other  authors  have  allowed  themselves  to  repeat  to 
the  disadvantage  of  Dampier,  are  for  ever  forgotten. 

Though  the  life  of  this  navigator  was  spent  in  incessant 
action,  his  natural  genius  appears  to  have  been  rather  specu- 
lative than  enterprising.  He  liked  to  reason  and  to  scheme, 
and  lost  sight  of  present  small  but  certain  advantage  in  ex- 
tensive and  brilliant  plans  for  the  future,  which  his  evil  for- 
tune forbade  him  to  realize.  If,  indeed,  there  be  such  things 
as  good  and  bad  fortune  in  human  afiairs  independent  of 
skill  and  exertion,  Dampier  may  be  pointed  out  as  an  ex- 
ample of  what  the  world  calls  an  unlucky  man, — one  to 
whom  every  event  proves  adverse, — who  seems  singled  out 
for  misfortune.  Except  the  capital  error  of  the  mode  of  life 
upon  which  he  entered,  none  of  his  misadventures  can  be 
traced  to  himself;  and  this  lawless  life  enriched  many  of 
his  contemporaries,  while  it  kept  him  in  poverty  and  left  him 
a  beggar.  In  relating  its  incidents,  he  has  never  once 
attempted  to  justify  or  palliate  his  manner  of  existence  for 
so  many  years.  Amid  the  vicissitudes  and  temptations  to 
which  it  exposed  him,  his  excellent  understanding  and  the 
principles  he  had  imbibed  in  the  virtuous  household  of  a 
Somersetshire  yeoman  preserved  him,  if  not  entirely  spot- 
less from  evil  contagion,  yet  from  that  decay  and  deadness 
of  moral  feeling  which  are  of  the  worst  consequences  of 
vicious  companionship.  He  was  humane,  just  in  the  most 
strict  and  also  in  the  most  liberal  sense,  candid  and  chari- 
table in  his  judgments,  and  (rare  virtues  in  a  Bucanier  !) 
orderly  and  temperate,  detesting  the  riotous  excess  of  his 
associates.  Get  over  the  stumbling-block  of  his  early  life 
being  squared  by  "  the  good  old  rule,"  and  Dampier  the 
Bucanier  was  a  virtuous  man.  In  the  South  Sea,  and 
afterward  in  the  Cygnet,  he  might  have  obtained  command, 
such  was  the  respect  his  shipmates  entertained  for  his  abili- 
ties ;  but  the  love  of  adventure  was  his  strongest  passion, 
and  his  sole  ambition  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

He  appears  latterly  to  have  deeply  felt  the  disgrace  and 
galling  servitude  of  his  lawless  life,  and  serious  reflection 
arid  remorseful  feelings  pressed  upon  his  mind  with  great 
force  long  before  he  was  able  to  get  free  of  his  wild  asso- 
ciates in  the  Cygnet. 


332  LAST    YEARS    OF    DAMPIER. 

By  the  time  that  Dampier  returned  to  England  with 
Woodes  Rogers  he  was  far  advanced  in  life,  and  his  career 
for  forty  years  had  been  one  of  unremitting  hardihood  and 
professional  exertion.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  he  never 
embarked  in  any  subsequent  voyage  ;  and  as  the  remaining 
part  of  his  life,  whether  long  or  short,  is  involved  in  com- 
plete obscurity,  there  is  but  too  much  reason  to  believe  that 
it  yvn.s  passed  in  neglect,  if  not  in  poverty.  Of  this  eminent 
seaman  and  traveller,  though  little  more  than  a  century  can 
have  elapsed  since  his  death,  no  one  is  able  now  to  tell  how 
the  evening  of  his  life  was  spent,  when  he  died,  or  where 
he  was  buried.  Had  he  expired  in  some  remote  island  of 
the  Pacific,  or  perished  in  the  element  on  which  so  great  a 
portion  of  his  life  was  passed,  some  imperfect  record  might 
have  remained  to  satisfy  our  natural  desire  to  know  the  last 
of  the  worn-out  and  veteran  11:1  victor  ;  but  it  was  his  fate 
to  sink  unheeded  amid  the  conflicting  waves  and  tides 
of  society  ;  and  no  memorial  or  tradition  remains  of  hii 
death,  in  whose  remaikahh:  life  the  adventures  of  Selkirk, 
Wafer,  and  the  Bucanier  commanders  of  the  South  Sea 
appear  but  as  episodes.  So  much  for  human  fame ! 


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in 


LIFE  OF  NAPOLEON  BUONAPARTE,  By  J.  G. 
Looklmn,  Ksq.  \Vitli  Copperplate  Engravings. 
2  vols.  18  mo. 

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I-*FE  OF  NELSON.  By  Robert  Southey,  Esq.    With 
a  Portrait.     ISmo. 

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— 


LIFE    OF    ALEXANDER    THE    GREAT.    By  Rev  I 

J.Williams.    WitnaMap.    ISrao. 

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the  schoolmaster,  and  also  the  schoolboy,  whether  at  home  or  abroad 
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NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  INSECTS.    Illustrated  by 
numerous  Engraving*.     18mo. 

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LIFE  OF  LORD  BYRON.  By  John  Gait,  Esq.  18 mo. 

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Byron,  was  never  before  discovered,  collected,  and  set  down,  as  we  find 
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ning Journal. 

"  Mr.  Gait  is  well  and  favourably  known  as  a  writer."— Mercantile 
Advertiser. 


LIFE  OF  MOHAMMED,  Founder  of  the  Religion  of 
Islam  and  of  the  Empire  of  the  Saracens.  By  the 
Rev.  George  Bush,  M.  A.  With  a  plate.  IS  mo. 

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the  reader;  and  the  work  well  deserves  a  place  among  the  others  com- 
posing the  valuable  series  of  the  Family  Library."—  Evenrng  Journal. 

"  The  Family  Library  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  person.  Thus 
far  it  has  treated  of  subjects  interesting  to  all,  condensed  in  a  perspicu- 
ous and  agreeable  style." — Courier  &•  Enquirer. 

"  Mr.  Bush  is  a  scholar  of  extensive  acquirements,  and  well  fitted  for 
the  task  which  he  has  undertaken  in  this  volume." — .V.  Y.  Observer. 

"In  the  collection  of  materials,  the  author  appears  to  have  neglected 
no  source  from  which  valuable  aid  was  to  be  expected." — Philadelphia 
Daily  Chronicle. 

"The  history  of  the  eminent  impostor  cannot  but  be  a  work  of  interest 
to  every  enlightened  mind." — Penn.  Inquirer. 

"  We  have  found  much  to  admire  and  commend  in  even'  preceding 
number  of  the  Family  Library  ;  but  we  believe  the  present  will  be  allowed 
the  place  of  honour." — U.  S.  Gazette. 


DEMONOL.OGY   AND  WITCHCRAFT.     By  Walter 
Scott,  Bart.    ISmo.     WHIi  a  plate. 

"The  work  is  curious,  interesting,  and  instructive."—  Inquirer. 

"  This  volume  is  most  interesting,  and  will  be  read  with  great  pleasure 
by  almost  every  class  of  readers  "-U.  S.  Gazette. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  select  a  more  interesting  subject  for  the  pen 
of  a  man  of  genius  than  that  of  popular  superstitions.  To  say  that  Scott 
has  made  more  of  it  than  any  other  man  could  have  done,  is  only  to  add 
another  tribute  to  his  acknowledged  pre-eminence."—  Boston  Statesman. 

"  The  subject  is  most  alluring,  and  tke  manner  in  which  it  is  handled 
is  magical."— Athenaeum. 

'.'  One  of  the  most  useful,  and  certainly  one  of  the  most  amusing,  in  the 
Family  Library." — Courier. 

"  The  subject  is  one  in  which  Sir  Walter  is  perfectly  at  home,  and  is 
handled  with  that  tact  and  ability  so  peculiarly  his  own." — Globe. 

"We  must  leave  this  delightful  volume  to  the  delightful  admiration 
which  it  will  obtain,  and  to  that  consequent  'parlour  window'  immor- 
tality which  it  will  command  more  surely  and  deservedly  than  any  other 
of  the  writer's  works." — 0.  Journal. 

"All  the  volumes  of  this  interesting  and  useful  Library  should  be  in 
the  hands  of  our  youth,  as  they  will  gain  much  knowledge  and  instruc 
tion  from  their  perusal.  They  peculiarly  fit  the  mind  for  a  more  exten- 
sive entry  on  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat,  at  a  more  mature  period 
of  life."— N.  Y.  Eventng  Journal. 

"  This  work  will  be  sought  for  with  avidity."— .V.  Y.  Standard. 

"  It  is  a  delightful  puMication."—  Truth  Teller. 

"It  hazards  little  to  predict  that  this  volume  will  prove  the  most  popu- 
lar that  has  yet  been  put  forth  for  the  public  amusement  and  instruction." 

Spectator. 

HISTORY   OP   THE    BIBLE.    By  Rev.  G.  R.  Oleig. 
In  J3  vols.   ISmo.    Witli  a  Map. 

The  style  of  it  is  surpassed  by  no  work  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted :  it  is  highly  finished,  perspicuous  and  comprehensive.  His- 
torical and  biographical  facts  are  well  stated  ;  the  prominent  difficulties 
that  .present,  themselves  to  the  mind  of  an  intelligent  or  skeptical  reader 
of  the  Bible,  are  boldly  exhibited  and  ably  explained  ;  the  most  plausible 
objections  advanced  by  modern  infidels  are  answered  in  a  very  philo- 
sophical, learned,  and  conclusive  manner.  The  author  has  imbodied  in 
it  a  vast  deal  of  learning  and  research ;  has  discovered  superior  ingenuity 
and  force  of  intellect,  and  furnished,  withal,  a  specimen  of  fine  writing, 
which  must  secure  a  most  favourable  reception,  as  well  among  persons 
of  taste,  as  those  who  are  fond  of  Biblical  studies.  A  valuable  introduc- 
tion is  prefixed  to  the  work,  showing  the  divine  authority  and  authen- 
ticity of  the  Sacred  Volume."— Albany  Telegraph  jj-  Register. 

"  Mr.  Gleig's  plan  is  very  comprehensive,  and,  judging  from  the  speci- 
men before  us.  we  are  persuaded  that  it  will  prove  fully  satisfactory 
to  a  Christian  people.  In  his  inquiries  and  criticisms,  as  well  as  in 
his  suggestions  and  speculations,  Mr.  Gleig  is  free  and  independent. 
But  he  never  forgets  that  it  is  the  Bible,  the  Book  of  Heaven,  ho  has 
undertaken  to  elucidate."— New  Monthly  Magazine. 

"The  Rev.  author  is  one  of  the  very  best  writers  of  the  day.    He  has 

expended  a  great  deal  of  labour  and  research  upon  his  subject,  and  ha«- 

succeeded  in  giving  a  connected,  faithful,  and  succina  outline  of  the 

contents  of  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  in  vindicating  it»  statements  fronu 

ictionsof  skepticism  and  false  philosophy."— American  Traveliei 


POLAR  SEAS  AND  REGIONS.  By  Professors  Leslie 
and  Jameson  and  Hugh  Murray,  Esq.  18 mo.  With 
Maps  and  Engravings* 

"The  style  is  familiar,  concise,  end  comprehensive.  The  authors  are 
excellent  models  for  modern  historians  " — Albany  Evening  Journal. 

"A  work  from  such  b;inds  on  such  a  subject  cannot  fail  to  be  both 
interesting  and  valuable."— .V  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"The  three  eminent  men  who  have  produced  this  compilation  have 
rendered  a  great  service  to  the  cause  of  philosophy  and  knowledge." — 
New-York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  The  writers  are  gentlemen  of  first-rate  standing  in  the  scientific  world, 
and  the  subject  is  one  to  which  every  curious  mind  is  attached  by  a  son 
of  involuntary  impulse." — N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce. 

"  It  is  well  calculated  for  seamen  and  landsmen,  the  learned  and  unin- 
formed, and  for  both  sexes  of  every  age." — American  Traveller. 

"  This  volume  is  replete  with  interest ;  it  exhibits  a  succinct,  yet  com- 
plete and  connected  view  of  the  successive  voyages  made  to  the  Arctic 
Regions." — Monthly  Rejwsitory. 

"This  volume  presents  an  exceedingly  entertaining  and  instructive  view 
of  all  that  is  knowr.  of  th«i  Polar  8eas  and  Regions." — Philadel.  Chronicle. 

"The  volume  new  before  us  not  only  enters  into  an  account  of  the 
climate,  the  animal  and  vegetable  productions,  the  geology  of  the  Polar 
Regions,  and  the  details  of  the  whale  fishery  ;  but  presents  the  public 
with  highly  interesting  accounts  of  the  ancient  voyages  to  the  North, 
the  early  as  we' I  as  the  more  recent  voyages  in  search  of  the  North-East 
and  North-West  Passages,  together  with  the  late  voyages  directly  towards 
the  North  Pole." — Ant'  Monthly  Magazine. 

"  We  recommend  this  entertaining  volume." — Truth  Teller. 

"We  are  of  opinion  that  this  will  prove  one  of  the  most  popular  num- 
bers of  this  justly  popular  work." — Courier  <v  Enquirer. 

LIFE  AND  TIMES  OP  GEORGE  IV.  With  Anec. 
dotes  of  Distinguished  Persons.  By  the  Rev.  George 
Croly.  With  a  Portrait.  18mo. 

"Mr.  Croly  his  acqu'tted  himself  very  handsomely.  His  subject  is 
one  of  much  interest,  and  he  h?s  treated  it  with  unusual  impartiality. 
The  author's  style  is  chaste,  classical,  and  beautiful,  and  it  may  be  taken 
as  a  model  of  fine  writing.  It  is  worthy  of  his  genius  and  his  educa- 
tion."— Mercantile  Advertiser. 

"  This  number  is  from  the  eloquent  and  powerful  pen  of  the  Rev.  George 
Croly.  It  promises  mu«h  entertainment  and  instruction?  The  name  of 
the  writer  is  a  sufficient  passport  to  the  public  attention." — Com.  Adv. 

"This  is  an  interesting  volume,  blending  most  beautifully  instruction 
with  amusement." — Lanz  Island  Patriot. 

"  Mr.  Croly  is  a  man  of  talent ,  and  can  write  well.  There  is  proof  of 
tills  in  the  volume  before  us.  The  reflections  that  naturally  arise  out 
of  the  subject  are  philosophical  and  just;  and  the  sketches  of  character 
of  the  leading  men  and  ministers  are  drawn  with  a  bold  and  vigorous 
hand." — The  Athenaeum. 

"The  portraits  of  the  Prince's  friends  are  in  the  best  style,  and 
sketched  with  impartial  freedom.  Fox,  llurke,  Sheridan,  Erskine.  Cur- 
ran  were  of  the  splendid  galaxy,  and  the  characteristics  of  each  art  well 
preserved  in  Mr.  Croly's  pages." — Gentleman's  Magazine. 

"  Mr.  Croly  is  not  merely  a  fine  writer,  ^ut  a  very  powerful  one.  His 
outline  is  as  bold  and  broad  as  his  colours  are  glowing.  Ho  writes  lik« 
a  man  well  acquainted  witn  his  sunjen.r — Kriectic  Review. 


[61 


DISCOVERY  AND  ADVENTURE  IN  AFRICA.    By 
Professor  Jameson,  James  Wilson,  Esq.,  and  ling] 
Murray,  Esq.    With  a  map  and  engravings*  18mo 

"The  names  of  the  distinguished  individuals  by  whom  the  volume  ha 
been  prepared,  offer  a  sufficient  pledge  for  the  faithful  and  accomplishe 
execution  of  the  work;  and  the  field  of  their  labours  is  one  of  almost  un 
rivalled  attraction  for  whatever  is  new,  strange,  or  mysterious  in  histo 
rical  narrative,  or  bold  and  perilous  in  adventurous  exploil." — The  Atlas 

"  From  what  we  have  read,  we  ihink  it  will  add  another  very  interest 
ing  and  useful  volume  to  the  Family  Library.  This  work  we  believi 
will  be  interesting  to  every  dass  of  readers,  especially  to  the  philanthro 
pist  and  Christian."— N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

"  It  embraces  the  whole  field  of  modern  travels  in  Africa,  and,  like 
1  Polar  Seas  and  Regions,'  is  deserving  the  attention  of  every  one  who 
pretends  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  science  and  discovery." — Jour 
of  Commerce. 

"  In  this  volume  is  comprised  much  useful  and  entertaining  Knowledge 
concerning  a  country  which  has  long  been  the  subject  of  vague  report 
and  conjecture ;  the  theatre  of  visionary  monsters,  and  the  scene  of  the 
most  extravagant  romance." — N.  Y.  Standard. 

"  The  names  of  the  authors  wilJ  satisfy  the  public  that  this  is  a  work 
which  will  command  their  admiration  and  credence.  It  is  a  sterling 
addition  to  that  most  excellent  series,  the  Family  Library.'' — Albany 
Daily  Advertiser. 

"  In  the  present  work  we  nave  a  perfect  history  of  the  discoveries 
which  have  been  attempted,  from  the  time  of  Herodotus  until  the  final 
attempt  of  Rene  CailU ;  it  is  replete  with  interest."—  N.  Y.  Courier  <Sr 
Enquirer. 


LIVES    OF    EMINENT    PAINTERS    AND    SCULP 
TORS*      By   Allan   Cunningham,   Esq.      In   3   vols. 
18mo.    "With  Portraits. 

"  We  advise  all  those  of  our  readers  who  have  any  respect  for  our  re- 
ommendation,  to  read  these  three  volumes  from  beginning  to  end  ;  and  we 
re  confident  of  the  thanks  of  such  as  shall  be  induced  by  our  advice  to 
>rocure  for  themselves  so  great  an  enjoyment."— N.  Y.  Mirror. 

"  We  would  recommend  these  volumes  as  being  replete  with  mterest- 
ng  incident  and  valuable  historical  matter.  They  are  worthy  of  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  library  of  the  scholar,  and  are  of  that  description  of 
works  which  may  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  younger  branches  of 
ociety,  with  the  assurance  that  they  will  impart  both  moral  and  intel- 
ectual  improvement." — Boston  Masonic  Mirror. 
"  The  lives  of  distinguished  artists,  written  by  so  popular  an  author, 
an  hardly  fail  of  being  duly  appreciated  by  the  reading  community." — 
N.  Y.  Constellation. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  best  written  and  most  instructive  books  of  the 
series  to  which  it  belongs." — N.  Y.  American. 

"  The  whole  narrative  is  of  a  lively  and  alluring  kind,  flowing  in  its 
anguaee,  and  enriched  with  ceaseless  anecdote."— ^V.  Y.  Atlas. 

"  The  lives  of  Hogarth,  <fcc.  furnish  a  fund  of  entertaining  and  charac- 
eristic  anecdote,  of  which  the  author  has  known  how  to  avail  himself 
with  skill."— .V.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

<4So  much  as  an  accomplished  author,  an  admirable  field  of  exertion, 
nd  a  beautiful  typography,  can  do  or  promise  for  a  work,  so  much  we 
can  safely  accredit  to  the  volumes  before  us." — Journal  of  Commerce 


HISTORY  OP  CHIVALRY  AND  THE  CRUSADES. 
By  G.  P.  II,  James,  Esq.  With  an  Engraving, 
18  mo. 

"  The  present  volume  may  safely  be  pronounced  an  ornament  to  the 
literature  of  the  day,  and  Mr.  James  be  esteemed  a  writer  of  great  clear- 
ness arid  strength." — ^V.  Y.  Standard. 

"  The  author  of  this  work  has  done  the  public  a  service,  which  we  think 
will  be  duly  appreciated." — Christian  He.rald. 

"The  period  of  the  world  to  winch  this  history  relates  is  one  most 
interesting  10  readers  generally  " — .V.  Y.  Mercantile  Advertiser. 

"A  more  interesting,  instructive,  and  amusing  volume  has  not  been 
laid  upon  our  table  for  many  a  day." — B  >.ston  Statesman. 

"  Mr.  James  is  well  known  as  an  agreeable  writer ;  and  the  subjects 
of  this  volume  are  such  as  can  scarcely  fail  to  prove  both  amusing  and 
interesting." — N.  Y.  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  The  execution  of  this  work  is,  like  the  rest  of  the  Family  Library, 
elegant.  The  subject  is  of  no  little  interest :  and  those  who  have  read 
4  Richelieu'  and  '  Darnley'  will  oe  prepared  to  think  favourably  of  any 
production  from  the  same  pen." — Cunxtellatio/i, 

"  The  admirers  of  Mr.  James's  peculiar  style  of  composition  as  exhibited 
in  his  powerful  productions  of  'Darnley,'  '  Richelieu,'  '  De  L'Orme,'  Jtc 
have  now  an  opportunity  to  witness  his  equally  successful  efforts  in 
another  department,  where  all  classes  of  readers  may  unite  in  commend- 
ing the  subject,  the  i realise,  and  the  author."-- American  Traveller. 

"The  historical  details  embraced  in  this  volume  are  extremely  curious 
and  amusing;  and  the  accounts  of  ancient  customs  pertaining  to  the  vari- 
ous orders  of  knighthood  engaged  in  the  holy  wars,  furnish  tnuch  pleasant 
reading,  as  weil  as  food  for  contemplation  on  the  obsolete  follies  of  man- 
kind."— iV.  Y.  Evening  Journal. 


LIFE    OP   MARY,  Q,UEEN   OF   SCOTS.       By  H.  G 

Bell,  Esq.     In  3  vols.    iSmo.     With  a  Portrait. 

"It  is  decidedly  the  most  interesting  account  we  have  ever  seen  of  that 
iovely  and  unfortunate  being.  We  have  always  />/f  that  Mary  was  inno- 
cent of  the  great  crimes  charged  against  her  by  her  furious  nnd  deadly 
enemies  :  but  our  understanding  was  never  before  convinced.  It  was 
with  a  feeling  of  eager  joy,  that  we,  for  ihe  first  time  in  our  lives,  admit- 
ted the  full  conviction  of  her  innocence.  The  book  is  written  with  much 
candour  '' — Mtutackiut-ttt  Journal. 

'•  We  find  it  imbued  with  all  the  interest  of  a  romance,  without  de- 
stroying the  authenticity  of  the  history.  Mary  was  indeed  an  attractive 
subject  for  the  pen  of  a  lively  and  gallam  writer.  In  -such  hands,  her 
youth,  her  beauty,  her  station,  and  her  misfortunes  must  have  furnished 
admirable  themes  on  which  to  descant  and  wake  up  the  sympathies  of  the 
reader." — Pennsylvania  Inquirer. 

"The  life  of  the  unfortunate  queen  is  a  subject  of  strong  interest.'  — 
Constellation. 

"  The  style  of  the  author  is  succinct  and  clear,  and  is  a  good  specimen 
of  hisioric  composition."-  -Standard. 

"  The  reader  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that  the  life  of  Mary  has  been 
written  anew,  by  one  who  appears,  both  in  temper  and  talent,  extremely 
well  qualified  for  the  task."— .V.  Y.  Atlas. 

"  We  have  heretofore  made  extracts  from  tnis  work,  whi>  h  must  have 
given  our  readers  a  favourable  opinion  of  the  merits  of  the  whole.     \V 
have  no  difficulty  in  recommending  a  subject  so  interesting  to  the  public  " 
—Albion. 


•8] 


Ccf.l 


Dramatic  Series* 


[RESIDI 


